Not a good buy right now at ~$277.9 pre-market: price is extended into resistance after an earnings pop, and near-term odds skew to a pullback.
Despite a strong fiscal Q1’26 beat and raised targets, Wall Street remains broadly Neutral—suggesting limited urgency to chase.
Heavy selling signals from insiders, hedge funds, and recent Congress transactions conflict with the bullish earnings headline.
Net: Avoid initiating a new position today; if you must act immediately, this is a “don’t buy the spike” setup rather than a clean entry.
Technical Analysis
Trend/Momentum: MACD histogram +0.97 and expanding = bullish momentum, but it’s getting stretched.
RSI: RSI(6) ~75.7 = overbought/extended conditions (more consistent with a near-term pause/pullback than a fresh entry).
Levels: Price (~277.9) is above R1 (274.65) and approaching R2 (280.34); this is a common zone for profit-taking.
Moving averages: Converging MAs = trend is stabilizing, but not screaming “fresh breakout”; the risk/reward at resistance is weaker.
Quant pattern read: Similar-pattern stats imply ~80% chance of -2.45% next day and -4.69% next week (even though 1-month is slightly positive).
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Positioning/Sentiment: Low OI put/call (0.35) = bullish positioning/less hedging; volume put/call (0.71) also leans bullish but not extreme.
Activity: Today’s option volume is light vs 30D average (~42%), suggesting no major “new money” rush into directional bets.
Volatility: IV30 ~28.3 vs HV ~31.7; IV percentile ~68.8 = options pricing is relatively elevated vs its own history (market expects movement, but not necessarily higher).
Profitability: Net income $678.2M, +9.85% YoY; EPS $3.04, +9.75% YoY (earnings growing faster than revenue).
Margins: Gross margin 32.07%, up ~2.76% YoY (quality of growth improving).
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: A cluster of price target raises after earnings (JPM $280, BofA $280, UBS $285, Citi $285, Wells $270), but ratings largely stayed Neutral/Equal Weight.
Wall Street “pros”: Stronger base industrial gas performance, improving margins, better pricing (especially Europe), and a solid industrial gas project backlog.
Wall Street “cons”: Legacy/project execution risks (Louisiana/NEOM) and macro demand uncertainty; many firms prefer to stay sidelined despite the beat.
Bottom line from analysts: Targets moved up, conviction did not—supportive for holding, not compelling for an impatient new buy at resistance.
Wall Street analysts forecast APD stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for APD is 283 USD with a low forecast of 245 USD and a high forecast of 345 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.
15 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast APD stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for APD is 283 USD with a low forecast of 245 USD and a high forecast of 345 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
9 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 283.500
Low
245
Averages
283
High
345
Current: 283.500
Low
245
Averages
283
High
345
JPMorgan
Neutral
maintain
$260 -> $280
AI Analysis
2026-02-02
Reason
JPMorgan
Price Target
$260 -> $280
AI Analysis
2026-02-02
maintain
Neutral
Reason
JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Air Products to $280 from $260 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated the company's model post the earnings report.
BofA
Matthew DeYoe
Neutral
maintain
$275 -> $280
2026-02-02
Reason
BofA
Matthew DeYoe
Price Target
$275 -> $280
2026-02-02
maintain
Neutral
Reason
BofA analyst Matthew DeYoe raised the firm's price target on Air Products to $280 from $275 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm increased its FY26 EPS estimate to $13.05 from $13.00 on account of the fiscal Q1 beat and a stronger margin ramp and better pricing in Europe.
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