Should You Buy International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Buy
Latest Price
69.070
1 Day change
-4.28%
52 Week Range
88.000
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/29
Buy for a long-term beginner investor. The stock is in a constructive uptrend (bullish moving-average stack) and Wall Street has recently raised price targets while maintaining largely positive ratings, suggesting improving medium-term expectations. Although the latest reported quarter showed YoY declines in revenue and earnings, the market narrative is shifting toward an earnings turnaround over the next few quarters; at the current ~$71 level (near support), the risk/reward is acceptable for initiating a position now rather than waiting.
Technical Analysis
IFF closed at 71.31 (-1.43%), pulling back modestly. Trend structure is bullish: SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200 indicates an established uptrend. MACD histogram is positive (0.229) but contracting, implying upside momentum is still present but cooling short-term. RSI(6) at ~55 is neutral—no overbought condition, leaving room for continuation. Key levels: Pivot 71.91 (price slightly below, near-term softness), Support S1 69.95 then S2 68.74 (areas buyers may defend), Resistance R1 73.87 then R2 75.08 (break above R1 would confirm renewed momentum). Overall: medium-term trend bullish, short-term consolidation/pullback near support.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bearish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Open interest put/call ratio of 0.69 is mildly bullish (more calls than puts outstanding), suggesting positioning is not defensive. However, the option volume put/call ratio of 4.74 is strongly bearish on the day (heavy put activity versus calls), indicating near-term caution/hedging. Options activity is elevated versus average (today vs 30-day volume ~121%), so the bearish volume skew is meaningful for short-term sentiment. Implied vol (30D) ~32.7 vs historical vol ~27.3 with IV percentile ~60 suggests options are pricing a moderate level of event/price uncertainty (earnings are upcoming on 2026-02-11). Net: longer-positioning looks constructive, but near-term traders are leaning defensive.
Technical Summary
Sell
11
Buy
3
Positive Catalysts
1) Analyst upgrades/price target raises clustered in January 2026 (Citi, Argus, Barclays, BofA) reinforce improving expectations.
2) Street commentary points to potential earnings turnaround in coming quarters.
3) Macro tailwinds cited by analysts for the sector: better currency/sales environment and potential PMI improvement/rate cuts (if they occur).
4) Technical backdrop remains in an uptrend (bullish MA stack), which often supports longer-term accumulation.
5) Upcoming earnings (2026-02-11 after hours) can serve as a catalyst if guidance supports the turnaround narrative.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
1) Latest reported quarter (2025/Q3) showed weakening fundamentals: revenue, net income, and EPS all down YoY.
3) Analysts also flagged risks: high raw material costs, geopolitical impacts, and potential 2026 oil/currency headwinds.
4) Fresh tariff risk noted by Citi could pressure costs/margins depending on how policy evolves.
5) Near-term resistance overhead at ~73.9–75.1 could cap gains if momentum doesn’t re-accelerate.
Financial Performance
Latest quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue was $2.694B (-7.90% YoY), Net Income was $40M (-32.20% YoY), EPS was $0.16 (-30.43% YoY). A notable positive is Gross Margin at 31.07%, up slightly (+0.32% YoY), suggesting some mix/pricing or cost management is helping margin even while overall growth is weak. Overall: margins stabilized/improved slightly, but top-line and earnings trends were negative in the latest quarter, making the turnaround thesis dependent on upcoming quarters/guidance.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: predominantly upward revisions to price targets with Buy/Overweight stances reaffirmed. In January 2026: Argus raised PT to $80 (Buy), Citi raised PT to $83 (Buy), Barclays raised PT to $78 (Overweight) though it explicitly noted concerns about fundamentals, and BofA raised PT to $88 (Buy). Earlier (Nov 2025), Morgan Stanley maintained Overweight with a slight PT trim and highlighted potential FY26 re-acceleration; UBS stayed Neutral with a modest PT increase.
Wall Street pros: multiple PT raises, expectation of earnings improvement/turnaround, and relative-value arguments (discount vs staples peers per MS).
Wall Street cons: ongoing fundamental softness (growth trajectory flattened), raw material/geopolitical pressures, and possible 2026 oil/currency/tariff headwinds.
Net view: Wall Street leans constructive overall, with a minority more cautious, and the core debate is timing/strength of the earnings re-acceleration.
Wall Street analysts forecast IFF stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IFF is 80.66 USD with a low forecast of 68 USD and a high forecast of 89 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.
9 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast IFF stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IFF is 80.66 USD with a low forecast of 68 USD and a high forecast of 89 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
3 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 72.160
Low
68
Averages
80.66
High
89
Current: 72.160
Low
68
Averages
80.66
High
89
Argus
Buy
maintain
$70 -> $80
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
Reason
Argus
Price Target
$70 -> $80
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
maintain
Buy
Reason
Argus raised the firm's price target on IFF to $80 from $70 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm has a favorable view of the company's innovative products and global reach, as well as their broad-based product applications across different markets, and while the company's growth trajectory has been flattened by geopolitical developments and high raw material costs, Argus expects earnings to turnaround in the next few quarters, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Citi
Buy
upgrade
$77 -> $83
2026-01-21
Reason
Citi
Price Target
$77 -> $83
2026-01-21
upgrade
Buy
Reason
Citi raised the firm's price target on IFF to $83 from $77 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the specialty chemicals group as part of a Q4 preview. Citi sees a better currency and sales environment for the sector, but with the potential for "fresh tariff risks."
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