Should I Buy HCKT? HCKT 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Hackett Group Inc (HCKT) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

16.170

1 Day change

0.87%

52 Week Range

34.020

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/04

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Not a good buy right now: trend is decisively bearish (bearish MAs + worsening MACD), so the stock is still a “falling knife” despite being oversold.
Oversold RSI (6) at ~13 can spark a short bounce, but there is no Intellectia AI Stock Picker or SwingMax entry signal to support an aggressive dip-buy.
With earnings (QDEC 2025) on 2026-02-17 AH and options IV very elevated, the cleaner buy setup is likely after a confirmed reversal or post-earnings clarity (this does not fit an impatient, “buy now” approach).
Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals
- AI Stock Picker: no signal on given stock today.
- SwingMax: No signal on given stock recently.

Technical Analysis

Price/Trend: Downtrend intact; moving averages are bearish (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), confirming sustained downside momentum.
Momentum: MACD histogram at -0.353 and negatively expanding → bearish momentum is strengthening, not stabilizing.
Overbought/Oversold: RSI_6 at 13.18 = deeply oversold → bounce potential is present, but oversold can persist in strong downtrends.
Key levels: Pivot 18.48 overhead (major reclaim level). Support levels: S1 16.971 (already below), S2 16.039 (next important floor). Current price ~16.48 sits uncomfortably close to S2, so another leg down is plausible.
Pattern/stat model: Similar-pattern stats imply negative drift (-1.51% next day, -3.71% next week), reinforcing caution on “buy now.”

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Positioning/Sentiment: Put/Call OI ratio 0.21 indicates call-heavy open interest (bullish tilt), but overall open interest is small (197 total), limiting confidence.
Flow today: Call volume 4 vs put volume 0 → skewed bullish, but volume is extremely low, so it may not be meaningful.
Volatility: 30D IV ~88.32 vs historical vol ~32.89 → options are pricing large moves (often into earnings), suggesting uncertainty/event-risk.
IV context: IV percentile ~78 (elevated) and IV trending high vs 5D/10D averages → market expects continued large swings soon, not stability.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Potential oversold rebound setup (RSI extremely low) if buyers defend the 16.04 area (S2).
- Earnings catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-17 after hours could reset expectations if results/guide surprise positively.
- News tone is broadly supportive of AI-driven efficiency/ROI themes, which can help consulting/benchmarking narratives if HCKT links offerings to measurable AI ROI.
- Options positioning leans call-heavy (low put/call OI), implying some traders are positioned for upside.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Technicals are bearish across trend and momentum (bearish MA stack + expanding negative MACD), increasing odds that “oversold” becomes “more oversold.”
- Near-term support risk: price is below S1 and hovering above S2; a break of ~16.04 can accelerate downside.
- Elevated implied volatility implies the market expects big moves; with earnings ahead, downside gaps are a realistic risk.
- Statistical analog shows negative expected returns over the next week (-3.71%).
- No supportive proprietary timing signals today (no AI Stock Picker, no SwingMax).

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: 72.166M, -7.42% YoY (top-line contraction).
Profitability: Net income 2.547M, -70.34% YoY (sharp earnings deterioration).
EPS: 0.09, -70.97% YoY (material decline).
Margins: Gross margin 41.2%, +1.85% YoY (some improvement, but not enough to offset the earnings drop).
Takeaway: Margin improvement is a positive, but the dominant trend is weaker growth and sharply weaker earnings—hard to justify buying aggressively into a downtrend.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating changes or price target updates were provided in the dataset, so a verified “recent trend” in Wall Street ratings/targets cannot be determined here.
Wall Street pros (inferred from available data): If analysts are focused on AI/efficiency transformation demand, that can support longer-term consulting spend narratives.
Wall Street cons (inferred from available data): The latest quarter shows meaningful YoY declines in revenue and earnings; until growth re-accelerates, the stock is likely to be viewed as higher risk, especially into earnings.
Influential/political trading: No recent congress trading data available; hedge fund and insider activity shown as Neutral (no notable recent trend).

3 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast HCKT stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for HCKT is 27.5 USD with a low forecast of 27 USD and a high forecast of 28 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.

3 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 16.030

Low

Averages

27.5

High

Current: 16.030

Low

Averages

27.5

High

Barrington

Outperform -> NULL

downgrade

$32 -> $27

AI Analysis

2025-08-06

Reason

Barrington

Price Target

$32 -> $27

AI Analysis

2025-08-06

downgrade

Outperform -> NULL

Reason

Barrington lowered the firm's price target on Hackett Group to $27 from $32 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Hackett reported Q2 total net revenue that exceeded consensus estimates by 1%, while EPS met consensus, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Barrington Research

Vincent Colicchio

Buy

Maintains

$36

2025-04-11

Reason

Barrington Research

Vincent Colicchio

Price Target

$36

2025-04-11

Maintains

Buy

Reason

HCKT Should I Buy

HCKT Should I Buy

Should You Buy Hackett Group Inc (HCKT) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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