Should You Buy Carpenter Technology Corp (CRS) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Buy
Latest Price
310.390
1 Day change
-6.40%
52 Week Range
355.000
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/28
Buy CRS now for a long-term position. The stock is in a broader uptrend (bullish moving-average stack), sentiment is strongly bullish in the options market (very low put/call ratios), Wall Street has recently upgraded/raised targets to $380, hedge funds are accumulating, and the latest reported quarter (FY2026/Q1) showed strong profit and margin expansion. With earnings (QDEC 2025) due pre-market Jan 29, the near-term catalyst is immediate, and the current dip (~-5% regular session) provides a reasonable entry without waiting for a “perfect” setup.
Technical Analysis
Trend/Setup: Despite today’s sharp regular-session pullback (-4.98%), the bigger technical structure remains bullish with SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200 (classic uptrend stack). Momentum: MACD histogram is positive (0.45) but contracting, implying upside momentum is still present but cooling near-term. RSI(6) at 44.36 is neutral-to-slightly soft, consistent with a dip rather than an overbought condition. Levels: Current post-market price ~331.61 is below the pivot (335.015), suggesting near-term weakness, but it’s closer to support than resistance. Key levels: Support S1 ~319.06 (then S2 ~309.20). Resistance R1 ~350.98 (then R2 ~360.84). Practical read: This looks like a pullback within an uptrend; buying near 331 with awareness of support around 319 is a reasonable long-term entry.
**Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals**
- [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today.
- [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock recently.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Sentiment: Options positioning is notably bullish (low put/call ratios on both open interest and volume). Open interest is call-heavy (call OI 16,876 vs put OI 4,172), reinforcing upside bias. Volatility: 30D IV ~47.06 vs historical vol ~69.32; IV percentile ~64.4 suggests options are not “cheap,” but not extreme either. Activity: Today’s volume (436) is below the 5D/10D averages (~527/~493), implying no panic hedging; sentiment remains constructive into earnings.
Technical Summary
Sell
7
Buy
5
Positive Catalysts
Near-term event catalyst: Earnings (QDEC
on 2026-01-29 pre-market with Street EPS est. ~2.20–2.22 and revenue est. ~$734M.
Wall Street momentum: Recent upgrades/target hikes (KeyBanc to Overweight; TD Cowen raised PT), both citing pricing strength and cost control.
Institutional behavior: Hedge funds net buying up ~107.57% over the last quarter.
Business performance trend: Latest reported quarter showed strong earnings and margin expansion (supports a higher multiple over time if sustained).
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
Macro/policy headline risk: News flow around potential tariff escalation and shutdown risk can pressure industrial/aerospace-adjacent sentiment short term.
Technical near-term: Price is below the pivot (
and momentum is cooling (MACD contracting), so follow-through upside may require a fresh catalyst (earnings).
Financial Performance
Latest quarter: FY2026/Q1. Growth trends were strong on profitability and margins: Revenue $733.7M (+2.24% YoY), Net Income $122.5M (+44.63% YoY), EPS $2.43 (+45.51% YoY), Gross Margin 29.49% (+20.02% YoY). Takeaway: Modest top-line growth but significant operating leverage/profit expansion—generally bullish for long-term investors if pricing and mix improvements persist.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: Analysts have turned more positive with upgrades and higher price targets clustered in mid-Nov 2025. KeyBanc upgraded CRS to Overweight (from Sector Weight) with a $380 PT, highlighting strong pricing/cost control and potential upside as aerospace build rates improve. TD Cowen reiterated Buy and raised PT to $380 (from $340) after management meetings. Wall Street pros: strong pricing power, cost discipline, and aerospace-driven demand/mix upside. Cons: results and sentiment can be sensitive to macro/policy headlines and cycle expectations, making timing around catalysts (like earnings) important.
Influential/political trading: No recent congress trading data available; insider trend is neutral (no significant recent insider activity reported).
Wall Street analysts forecast CRS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CRS is 389.67 USD with a low forecast of 365 USD and a high forecast of 425 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast CRS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CRS is 389.67 USD with a low forecast of 365 USD and a high forecast of 425 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 331.610
Low
365
Averages
389.67
High
425
Current: 331.610
Low
365
Averages
389.67
High
425
TD Cowen
Gautam Khanna
Buy
maintain
$340 -> $380
AI Analysis
2025-11-14
Reason
TD Cowen
Gautam Khanna
Price Target
$340 -> $380
AI Analysis
2025-11-14
maintain
Buy
Reason
TD Cowen analyst Gautam Khanna raised the firm's price target on Carpenter Technology to $380 from $340 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated its model following meetings with management.
KeyBanc
Sector Weight -> Overweight
upgrade
$380
2025-11-13
Reason
KeyBanc
Price Target
$380
2025-11-13
upgrade
Sector Weight -> Overweight
Reason
KeyBanc last night upgraded Carpenter Technology to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $380 price target. The firm expects strong pricing and cost control to "carry the day" in fiscal 2026. Carpenter is sees materially higher prices and has potential mix upside late in fiscal 2026, the analyst tells investors in a research note. KeyBanc believes this should provide the company the bandwidth to exceed EBIT expectations as B-737 and MAX growth resumes.
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