Should I Buy J? J 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Jacobs Solutions Inc (J) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

148.810

1 Day change

3.53%

52 Week Range

168.440

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/05

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Buy now: The post-earnings setup is supported by strong backlog/project wins, raised guidance, and broadly bullish Street targets (most $160–$175 vs. ~$143 pre-market).
Not a perfect technical entry, but momentum is improving (positive/expanding MACD) and the stock is holding above key pivot support (~137). With an impatient stance, the risk/reward still favors entering now rather than waiting.
Sentiment tailwinds: insiders are aggressively buying; options volume leans call-favorable even though open interest is more defensive.
Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals
- AI Stock Picker: No signal on given stock today.
- SwingMax: No signal on given stock today.

Technical Analysis

Trend: Longer-term trend still looks bearish/transitioning (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), meaning the stock hasn’t fully reclaimed an uptrend.
Momentum: MACD histogram +0.144 and expanding → bullish momentum building after earnings.
RSI (6): 68.6 → nearing overbought; upside can continue, but short-term pullback risk is elevated.
Key levels:
- Pivot support: 137.43 (important “line in the sand”)
- Immediate resistance: 142.76 (R1) — price is essentially at/just above this area pre-market
- Next resistance: 146.05 (R2) — reasonable near-term upside target if R1 breaks cleanly
Pattern-based projection (similar candlesticks): ~+5.99% next week, +12.47% next month (despite a slightly negative next-day bias).

Options Data

Bearish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Positioning/sentiment:
- Open Interest Put/Call = 1.58 → more puts outstanding (cautious/hedged sentiment).
- Volume Put/Call = 0.56 → today’s flow is more call-leaning (more bullish near-term speculation).
Activity: volume is ~~105% of 30D average, while open interest is elevated (**~~159%** vs avg) → notable post-event positioning.
Volatility:
- 30D IV 28.61 vs historical vol 30.07 → options not especially “expensive” vs realized movement.
- IV percentile 62 (mid-high), but IV rank 7.66 (low vs its own range) → recent IV is not stretched versus past peaks.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Earnings/guidance: Q1 FY2026 adjusted EPS $1.53 (+15% YoY) and revenue $3.29B (+12.3% YoY); guidance raised and dividend increased.
- Backlog / demand: Multiple notes highlight strong backlog growth and ~2x book-to-bill (per Goldman commentary), improving revenue visibility.
- New award: Selected to design a major Texas coastal storm surge barrier (large, high-visibility infrastructure catalyst).
- Insider behavior: Insiders are buying, with buying amount up ~1820% over the last month (strong confidence signal).

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Technicals not fully bullish: Moving averages remain stacked bearishly (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), suggesting the longer trend hasn’t decisively turned.
- Near resistance: Trading right at R1 (~142.76); failure to break could lead to a quick fade toward the pivot (~137.4).
- Options open interest is defensive: Put-heavy open interest (PCR 1.58) suggests meaningful hedging.
- Reported (GAAP) profitability distortion: Financial snapshot shows steep YoY drops in net income/EPS, which can weigh on headline perception even if adjusted results are strong.
- Macro tape: Pre-market S&P 500 down ~0.65%, which can dampen early-session risk appetite.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter (2026/Q1):
- Revenue: $3.293B, +12.29% YoY (clear top-line growth)
- Gross margin: 23.24%, -5.49% YoY (some margin pressure in reported metrics)
- Net income: $133.2M, -1082% YoY (likely impacted by non-recurring items/comp base, inconsistent with strong adjusted EPS narrative)
- EPS (reported): 1.12, -1118% YoY
Quality check vs headlines: News flow emphasizes adjusted EPS beat and raised outlook, implying the big YoY drops in the snapshot are probably driven by one-offs/accounting impacts rather than a collapse in core demand.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend: Targets mostly moved up after the Q1 beat (RBC $160, UBS $175, Goldman $163), while Baird stayed Neutral and trimmed to $143.
Where Wall Street sits:
- Pros (bull case): Strong demand across end markets, rising organic-growth visibility, strong book-to-bill/backlog, continued pipeline growth; multiple firms reiterate Buy/Outperform.
- Cons (bear case): Valuation and longer-term AI-related uncertainty (some analysts cite potential revenue headwinds later in the decade); a notable Neutral view at $143 effectively caps near-term upside in that framework.
Net takeaway: Street view is constructive overall, with the majority of price targets implying meaningful upside from ~$143 despite one prominent neutral/valuation-driven dissent.
Influential/politician trading: No recent congress trading data available (no evidence of political buying/selling in the last 90 days).

10 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast J stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for J is 153.75 USD with a low forecast of 130 USD and a high forecast of 180 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.

5 Buy

5 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 143.730

Low

130

Averages

153.75

High

180

Current: 143.730

Low

130

Averages

153.75

High

180

Baird

Andrew Wittmann

Neutral

downgrade

$146 -> $143

AI Analysis

2026-02-04

New

Reason

Baird

Andrew Wittmann

Price Target

$146 -> $143

AI Analysis

2026-02-04

New

downgrade

Neutral

Reason

Baird analyst Andrew Wittmann lowered the firm's price target on Jacobs to $143 from $146 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated its model following Q4 results where it backlog surged and a modest guidance increase was given.

RBC Capital

Outperform

maintain

$156 -> $160

2026-02-04

New

Reason

RBC Capital

Price Target

$156 -> $160

2026-02-04

New

maintain

Outperform

Reason

RBC Capital raised the firm's price target on Jacobs to $160 from $156 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares after its Q1 earnings beat. Demand trends remain firmly intact across Jacobs' various end-markets/regions, with no notable impact from the U.S. government shutdown, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

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J Should I Buy

J Should I Buy

Should You Buy Jacobs Solutions Inc (J) 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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