Should I Buy ISTR? ISTR 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Investar Holding Corp (ISTR) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

28.450

1 Day change

0.85%

52 Week Range

31.770

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/29

Buy now. The chart is in a clear bullish trend (stacked moving averages and expanding positive MACD), momentum is not yet overbought (RSI ~64), and recent company updates (loan growth, lower cost of funds, and share repurchases) provide supportive near-term catalysts. Despite some mixed/conflicting quarter profitability datapoints in the snapshot, the current setup still favors upside over the next few weeks from a trading perspective.

Technical Analysis

Trend/Momentum: Bullish. SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200 confirms an established uptrend; MACD histogram (0.0255) is above zero and expanding, supporting continued momentum. RSI_6 at 64.4 is constructive (not extreme/overbought). Levels: Price 28.21 sits above S1 (27.08) and below the pivot (28.89). A move back above the pivot improves odds of testing R1 (30.70). Downside risk is a break below ~27.08 (then ~25.97). Pattern/Path: Similar-candlestick analog suggests modest next-day upside, slight weekly softness, and stronger 1-month upside (+9.2%), aligning with the bullish trend. **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

Positive Catalysts

signal management confidence and can support EPS over time.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial snapshot shows YoY profitability deterioration (EPS down 16.39% YoY) and net income listed as down 100% YoY (to 0), which creates fundamental uncertainty even if revenue rose.
Price is still below the pivot (28.89), meaning it hasn’t fully reclaimed the next technical ‘go’ level yet.
No strong institutional/insider trend signals were flagged (both neutral), reducing conviction from flow-based confirmation.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q4. Revenue grew to ~$22.64M (+7.82% YoY), indicating top-line growth. However, the provided snapshot indicates EPS fell to 0.51 (-16.39% YoY) and net income dropped to 0 (-100% YoY), which conflicts with the news headline EPS of $0.58 for Q4 2025—so profitability quality is the main weak point in the dataset. Operationally, loan growth and a lower cost of funds are constructive forward indicators for a banking business.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating/price target change data was provided, so there’s no clear read on recent Wall Street upgrades/downgrades. Pro (what Wall St. typically likes here based on provided info): improving funding costs, loan growth, and buybacks. Con (what Wall St. would likely question): inconsistent/weak profitability signals in the latest quarter data and limited external confirmation from ratings/targets.

1 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast ISTR stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ISTR is 29 USD with a low forecast of 29 USD and a high forecast of 29 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.

1 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 28.210

Low

Averages

High

Current: 28.210

Low

Averages

High

Piper Sandler

Stephen Scouten

maintain

$27 -> $29

AI Analysis

2025-10-21

Reason

Piper Sandler

Stephen Scouten

Price Target

$27 -> $29

AI Analysis

2025-10-21

maintain

Reason

Piper Sandler analyst Stephen Scouten raised the firm's price target on Investar Holding to $29 from $27 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Q3 results were better than its expectations at 54c. The strong results came primarily on the higher net interest margin - up 13 bps quarter-to-quarter to 3.06%.

Hovde Group

Feddie Strickland

maintain

$23 -> $27

2025-07-08

Reason

Hovde Group

Feddie Strickland

Price Target

$23 -> $27

2025-07-08

maintain

Reason

Hovde Group analyst Feddie Strickland raised the firm's price target on Investar Holding to $27 from $23 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares.

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ISTR Should I Buy

ISTR Should I Buy

Should You Buy Investar Holding Corp (ISTR) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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