Should You Buy General Dynamics Corp (GD) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Buy
Latest Price
356.680
1 Day change
-2.71%
52 Week Range
369.700
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/28
Buy for a beginner long-term investor right now. GD just sold off after an earnings beat and upbeat 2026 outlook, leaving the stock near a key pivot/support zone (~359 pivot; ~349 first support). The longer-term trend remains constructive (bullish moving-average stack), options positioning is notably bullish (low put/call), hedge funds are accumulating, and Wall Street price targets have been moving higher—together making the current dip an attractive entry for an investor who doesn’t want to wait.
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Technical Analysis
Trend: Longer-term uptrend intact, but short-term momentum has weakened after the post-earnings drop.
- Moving Averages: Bullish structure (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) suggests the primary trend is still up.
- MACD: Histogram at -0.491 and negatively expanding = bearish momentum near-term (sell-the-news pressure).
- RSI(6): 39.06 = leaning weak but not deeply oversold; room for volatility but also near a potential stabilization zone.
- Levels: Pivot 359.23 is essentially where price is trading; if it holds, a rebound attempt could target 369.13 then 375.24. If it fails, watch 349.34 then 343.23.
- Quant pattern note: Similar-pattern stats imply mild downside bias over 1W/1M, so expect choppiness even if the long-term thesis remains positive.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Sentiment read: Options positioning is bullish.
- Open Interest Put/Call (0.62): More calls than puts outstanding, typically constructive.
- Volume Put/Call (0.17): Extremely call-skewed flow for the day, suggesting traders are leaning bullish into/after the move.
- Volatility: 30D IV ~21.2 vs HV ~18.78 with IV percentile ~51 = options pricing is not extreme; sentiment is optimistic without panic hedging.
Technical Summary
Sell
7
Buy
5
Positive Catalysts
2026/01/28 22:18:55
- Q4 2025 earnings beat: EPS 4.17 vs est. 4.11, with revenue up +7.8% YoY.
- 2026 outlook: Management guided 2026 operating earnings to ~$5.7B and EPS ~$16.10–$16.20 (supports long-term confidence).
- Macro tailwind: Expectations for sustained defense spending growth (explicitly cited by analysts as potentially bigger/longer than expected).
- Positioning/flows: Hedge funds are buying (reported +248% QoQ increase in buying amount), and options flow is call-heavy.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
2026/01/28 22:18:55
- Post-earnings “sell-the-news”: Shares fell despite the beat, signaling near-term digestion and possible further volatility.
- Tariffs: Reported projected ~$41M impact from tariffs in 2025 (margin/headwind risk).
- Congress trading (last 90 days): 4 sales, 0 buys (cautious signal from political/influential trading activity).
- Short-term technical momentum: MACD weakening and RSI soft raise odds of a near-term retest of support (~349).
Financial Performance
Latest quarter: 2025/Q4.
- Revenue: $14.379B, +7.8% YoY (solid top-line growth).
- Net Income: $1.143B, -0.44% YoY (slightly down; suggests costs/mix headwinds even as sales rose).
- EPS: $4.17, +0.72% YoY (modest improvement).
Overall: Growth is driven primarily by revenue expansion, while profitability is stable-to-slightly pressured—still consistent with a durable long-term compounder if defense demand remains strong.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: Net-positive. Multiple firms have raised targets and/or upgraded into late 2025 and January 2026.
- Notable bullish actions: Seaport raised PT to $444 (Buy); Morgan Stanley upgraded to Overweight with $408 PT; JPMorgan maintained Overweight and raised PT; BNP initiated Outperform with $410.
- Offsetting view: Citi initiated Neutral with $371 PT (more balanced stance).
Wall Street pros view (summary):
Pros: Defense spending growth visibility, favorable industry demand/supply dynamics, and improving multi-year outlook.
Cons: Valuation sensitivity after strong runs (sector-wide), near-term execution/margin risks (e.g., tariffs/costs), and potential post-earnings volatility.
Wall Street analysts forecast GD stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for GD is 386.85 USD with a low forecast of 360 USD and a high forecast of 410 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.
15 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast GD stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for GD is 386.85 USD with a low forecast of 360 USD and a high forecast of 410 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.
7 Buy
8 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 366.620
Low
360
Averages
386.85
High
410
Current: 366.620
Low
360
Averages
386.85
High
410
Seaport Research
Richard Safran
maintain
$376 -> $444
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
Reason
Seaport Research
Richard Safran
Price Target
$376 -> $444
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
maintain
Reason
Seaport Research analyst Richard Safran raised the firm's price target on General Dynamics to $444 from $376 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm believes Defense spending growth will be "far bigger and last longer" than expected, the analyst tells investors.
Scotiabank
Outperform
to
Sector Perform
downgrade
2026-01-21
Reason
Scotiabank
Price Target
2026-01-21
downgrade
Outperform
to
Sector Perform
Reason
Scotiabank downgraded Bombardier (BDRBF) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of C$295, up from C$230, "solely on valuation" with the multiple doubling over the past year and largely closing the gap to its closest peer, General Dynamics (GD). The firm believes the multiple expansion is justified by management's continued solid execution on deleveraging, diversification and earnings growth, the analyst tells investors.
Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for GD
