Should I Buy NPKI? NPKI 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy NPK International Inc (NPKI) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

13.830

1 Day change

1.69%

52 Week Range

14.690

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/30

BUY now. NPKI is in a confirmed technical uptrend (bullish moving-average stack) and options positioning is extremely call-skewed (very low put/call), which supports near-term upside continuation. With the stock trading around 14.04 pre-market and still below the raised $18 Street target, it offers a reasonable momentum entry for an impatient buyer, despite the notable YoY profit/EPS drop last quarter.

Technical Analysis

Trend is bullish: SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200 confirms upward structure. RSI_6 at 57.71 is neutral-to-slightly-bullish (not overbought), leaving room for continuation. MACD histogram is positive (0.0253) but contracting, implying momentum is still positive though cooling—more consistent with a steady grind up than a sharp breakout. Key levels: Pivot 13.916 is the immediate line to hold; support levels at 13.376 (S1) then 13.042 (S2). Upside resistance is 14.457 (R1) then 14.791 (R2). Pre-market 14.04 is above pivot and below R1, a constructive location for a momentum buy with a near-term push toward 14.46–14.79. Pattern-based probabilities also lean positive (approx. +0.98% next day, +3.48% next week, +5.11% next month).

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options positioning is strongly bullish: open interest put/call at 0.02 (calls overwhelmingly dominate; put OI only 60 vs call OI 3427). Volume is also call-only today (20 calls, 0 puts), reinforcing bullish sentiment, though total volume is light. Implied volatility is elevated (30D IV ~69% vs HV ~46%), suggesting the market is pricing meaningful movement; IV percentile ~55 indicates mid-to-high relative IV. Net takeaway: sentiment is decisively bullish, but pricing implies traders are paying up for optionality.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Technical uptrend (bullish MA stack) and price holding above pivot (13.
supports continuation.
Options market skew is extremely call-dominant (OI put/call 0.02; put volume effectively zero), signaling bullish sentiment.
Analyst support: H.C. Wainwright reiterated Buy and raised target to $18 from $12 (2025-11-03), citing multi-year utility/power infrastructure spend tailwinds.
Revenue growth strength in latest reported quarter (2025/Q3 revenue +55.72% YoY) and higher gross margin (+16.21% YoY) indicate improving operating quality at the gross level.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Profitability deterioration in the latest quarter: net income and EPS were down over 100% YoY (suggesting losses or a sharp swing versus prior year), which can cap valuation/momentum if it persists.
MACD positive but contracting—momentum is cooling, increasing the chance of consolidation near resistance (R1 14.457).
Elevated IV can amplify price swings around catalysts; next earnings are scheduled for 2026-02-26 after hours (QDEC 2025), which can become a volatility event.
No supportive news flow in the last week; absent catalysts, the stock may rely mainly on technical/flow-driven continuation.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue rose to $68.84M (+55.72% YoY), showing strong top-line expansion. Gross margin improved to 31.91% (+16.21% YoY), a constructive sign for core economics. However, net income fell to $5.65M (-103.24% YoY) and EPS fell to $0.07 (-103.47% YoY), indicating a major profitability swing versus the prior-year quarter (potentially from higher costs, non-recurring items, or prior-year comps). Net: growth and margin are moving the right direction, but earnings quality/consistency is the key watch item into the next report (QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-26 AH; EPS est. 0.11).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend: improving/positive. On 2025-11-03, H.C. Wainwright kept a Buy rating and raised the price target to $18 from $12, pointing to multi-year demand from power infrastructure expansion. Wall Street pros view (based on available data): Pro—clear secular tailwind and higher target supporting upside from ~14 area; Con—recent YoY EPS/net income collapse raises execution/earnings-risk concerns. Insider and hedge fund signals are neutral (no significant recent trend). Politician/congress activity: no recent congress trading data available in the last 90 days.

2 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast NPKI stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for NPKI is 18 USD with a low forecast of 18 USD and a high forecast of 18 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: 13.600

Low

Averages

High

Current: 13.600

Low

Averages

High

H.C. Wainwright

upgrade

$12 -> $18

AI Analysis

2025-11-03

Reason

H.C. Wainwright

Price Target

$12 -> $18

AI Analysis

2025-11-03

upgrade

Reason

H.C. Wainwright raised the firm's price target on NPK International to $18 from $12 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company is positioned to continue benefiting from growing utility spend on power infrastructure expansion over the next three to five years, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Roth Capital

Buy

maintain

$10 -> $12

2025-08-12

Reason

Roth Capital

Price Target

$10 -> $12

2025-08-12

maintain

Buy

Reason

Roth Capital raised the firm's price target on NPK International to $12 from $10 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm anticipates the company to continue its strong growth trajectory through 2025 into 2026 as its worksite access solutions see geographic expansion, highly positive end market tailwinds, and market share gains from wooden mats, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

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NPKI Should I Buy

NPKI Should I Buy

Should You Buy NPK International Inc (NPKI) 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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