Not a good buy right now: upside to near-term resistance (283) is limited versus downside to first support (259), creating an unfavorable immediate risk/reward for an impatient entry.
Recent momentum is not convincingly bullish (MACD still below zero), while insider selling has surged—this combination typically caps near-term upside.
Options sentiment is bullish (low put/call ratios and elevated volume), but it’s not reinforced by a breakout on price/trend signals.
Trend/Momentum: MACD histogram at -1.48 (below 0) = bearish momentum still present, though “negatively contracting” suggests downside pressure is easing rather than accelerating.
RSI: RSI_6 at 57.44 (neutral-to-mildly bullish), not overbought and not a strong oversold bounce signal either.
Moving averages: Converging MAs indicate consolidation/indecision rather than a clean uptrend continuation.
Key levels: Pivot 270.88 is the immediate line in the sand; price (273.22) is slightly above pivot.
Resistance: R1 282.97 (near-term ceiling); then R2 290.44.
Support: S1 258.79; then S2 251.32.
Relative performance: Stock was up +1.19% while S&P 500 was down -0.85% (relative strength), but not enough to confirm a new leg higher without clearing resistance.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Sentiment: Put/call ratios are very low (OI PCR 0.31; Volume PCR 0.29) → positioning/flow skewed bullish.
Activity: Today’s option volume is ~192.86% of the 30-day average → elevated attention/flow.
Volatility: 30D IV ~30.05 vs historical vol ~25.21 → options pricing implies moderately higher forward uncertainty.
IV context: IV percentile ~52.4 (middle of the range), IV rank ~9.83 (low vs its own past extremes) → not “panic-high” IV; not screaming hedging demand.
Technical Summary
Sell
4
Buy
10
Positive Catalysts
Solid top-line growth in the latest quarter (revenue +8.39% YoY) supports the fundamental narrative.
Bullish options skew (very low put/call ratios) and elevated options activity suggest traders are leaning constructive.
MACD downside momentum is easing (bearish pressure contracting), which can precede stabilization if price holds above the pivot (~270.9).
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
after mixed Q2 and weaker EBITDA margin guide commentary—signals near-term margin uncertainty.
Financial Performance
Latest quarter: 2026/Q2.
Revenue: $1.163B (+8.39% YoY) → healthy growth.
Net income: $95.35M (+2.21% YoY) → positive but lagging revenue growth.
EPS: $2.51 (+5.02% YoY) → steady earnings growth.
Gross margin: 30.38% (down 0.62 YoY) → margin compression is the key negative trend and aligns with the recent post-earnings caution.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent change: KeyBanc kept Overweight but cut price target to $300 from $310 (2026-01-28).
Rationale cited: mixed Q2, weaker EBITDA margin guide, concerns about higher LIFO expense and choppy December demand.
Wall Street pro view: maintained bullish rating implies longer-term confidence.
Wall Street con view: the target cut and margin/demand commentary point to near-term execution/margin risk—reduces conviction for an immediate buy at current levels.
Wall Street analysts forecast AIT stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AIT is 297.5 USD with a low forecast of 290 USD and a high forecast of 305 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.
3 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast AIT stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AIT is 297.5 USD with a low forecast of 290 USD and a high forecast of 305 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.
3 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 287.030
Low
290
Averages
297.5
High
305
Current: 287.030
Low
290
Averages
297.5
High
305
KeyBanc
Overweight
to
NULL
downgrade
$310 -> $300
AI Analysis
2026-01-28
Reason
KeyBanc
Price Target
$310 -> $300
AI Analysis
2026-01-28
downgrade
Overweight
to
NULL
Reason
KeyBanc lowered the firm's price target on Applied Industrial Technologies to $300 from $310 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes shares underperformed following mixed Q2 results and a weaker EBITDA margin guide. KeyBanc thinks buy-side expectations were likely high into the print, and it believes the selloff was mainly driven by concerns around higher LIFO expense in the quarter and choppy December demand trends.
Mizuho
Brett Linzey
maintain
$300 -> $305
2025-10-29
Reason
Mizuho
Brett Linzey
Price Target
$300 -> $305
2025-10-29
maintain
Reason
Mizuho analyst Brett Linzey raised the firm's price target on Applied Industrial Technologies to $305 from $300 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares.
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