Should You Buy Helios Technologies Inc (HLIO) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Buy
Latest Price
64.780
1 Day change
-1.77%
52 Week Range
68.560
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/29
BUY for a beginner long-term investor who wants to act now. The stock is in a broadly bullish technical structure (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) with strong Wall Street support (multiple Buy/Overweight ratings and price targets lifted to $74–$80). Options positioning is notably call-skewed (very low put/call open interest), implying bullish sentiment. The main offset is heavy recent insider selling and the fact that profitability (net income/EPS) dipped YoY despite revenue and margin improving. Net: attractive long-term entry at current ~$63–$64, with the next major catalyst being earnings on 2026-02-26 after hours.
Technical Analysis
Trend/structure: Bullish moving-average stack (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) suggests an established uptrend on a multi-timeframe basis. Momentum: MACD histogram is positive (0.183) but contracting, indicating bullish momentum is fading near-term rather than accelerating. RSI_6 ~48.6 is neutral, consistent with consolidation/pause. Levels: Pivot ~64.58 is overhead; price (~63) is below pivot, so near-term it’s slightly weak, but key support sits at S1 ~61.39 (then S2 ~59.43). Upside resistance levels are R1 ~67.76 and R2 ~69.73. Probabilistic pattern read: the provided analog suggests positive skew over 1 week to 1 month (notably ~16.22% in the next month), supporting a long-term buy decision.
Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals:
- [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today.
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Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Sentiment read: Open interest put/call ratio of 0.19 is strongly call-heavy, typically a bullish positioning signal. Volume put/call ratio is 0.0 today (all observed volume is calls), though total volume is small (12 contracts), so it’s more a “tilt” than a high-conviction flow signal. Volatility: 30D IV ~53.2 vs historical vol ~44.1; IV percentile ~41 and IV rank ~11 suggest options are not extremely expensive relative to recent history, and the market is not pricing an outsized near-term shock beyond normal fluctuations.
Technical Summary
Sell
5
Buy
8
Positive Catalysts
Analyst momentum: multiple recent initiations/raises with Buy/Overweight and higher targets ($74–$
Earnings catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-26 (after hours) with EPS estimate 0.71 could validate growth/margin trajectory and drive upside if execution remains strong.
Technical backdrop: bullish MA alignment supports long-term trend-following buyers on dips.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
Insider selling: insiders are selling and the selling amount increased ~201.88% over the last month—often a near-term sentiment/overhang risk.
Profitability softness in latest reported quarter: net income and EPS down YoY despite revenue growth, which can pressure multiples if it persists.
Near-term technical: price is below the pivot (~64.
and MACD is contracting, implying the stock may chop or retest support (~61–$
before resuming a stronger leg higher.
Financial Performance
Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue grew to ~$220.3M (+13.26% YoY), showing healthy top-line momentum. Gross margin improved to ~29.69 (+9.80% YoY), indicating better mix/pricing and/or execution. However, net income fell to ~$10.3M (-9.65% YoY) and EPS fell to ~$0.31 (-8.82% YoY), implying higher costs, reinvestment, or other below-the-line pressures offset operating improvements. Overall: growth + margin trend is constructive, but the market will want to see that margin gains translate into stronger EPS consistency.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend is clearly improving: Wall Street has been raising price targets and initiating coverage positively. Key moves: (1) JPMorgan initiated Overweight with an $80 target (2026-01-16), citing disciplined capital allocation, robust organic growth in Hydraulics/Electronics, and cultural/operational transformation. (2) Stifel lifted target to $74 from $65 and maintained Buy (2026-01-23). (3) KeyBanc lifted target to $74 from $64 and maintained Overweight (2026-01-26). Wall Street pros: improving end markets, strong operational leverage/self-help, better execution, supportive capital allocation. Wall Street cons: earnings consistency risk (given prior EPS/net income softness) and reliance on cyclical industrial demand improving as expected.
Wall Street analysts forecast HLIO stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for HLIO is 65 USD with a low forecast of 65 USD and a high forecast of 65 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.
2 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast HLIO stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for HLIO is 65 USD with a low forecast of 65 USD and a high forecast of 65 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.
2 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 65.950
Low
65
Averages
65
High
65
Current: 65.950
Low
65
Averages
65
High
65
KeyBanc
Jeffrey Hammond
Overweight
maintain
$64 -> $74
AI Analysis
2026-01-26
New
Reason
KeyBanc
Jeffrey Hammond
Price Target
$64 -> $74
AI Analysis
2026-01-26
New
maintain
Overweight
Reason
KeyBanc analyst Jeffrey Hammond raised the firm's price target on Helios Technologies to $74 from $64 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm thinks its new price target more accurately reflects the estimate upside driven by a combination of emerging end market improvement and high leverage on volume growth from self-help initiatives.
Stifel
Buy
maintain
$65 -> $74
2026-01-23
Reason
Stifel
Price Target
$65 -> $74
2026-01-23
maintain
Buy
Reason
Stifel raised the firm's price target on Helios Technologies to $74 from $65 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of the firm's Q4 preview for its diversified industrials coverage.
Unlock Full Analyst Thesis, Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for HLIO