Should I Buy CARS? CARS 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Cars.com Inc (CARS) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

11.140

1 Day change

1.09%

52 Week Range

18.030

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/04

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Not a good buy right now for an impatient investor: the tape is still bearish (MACD negative and worsening) and fundamentals recently weakened (net income/EPS down sharply YoY).
The only clear near-term bull case is a technical oversold bounce (RSI_6 ~19) with price sitting just above support (S1 ~10.93); however, without confirmation, downside risk to S2 ~10.48 remains meaningful.
Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals
- AI Stock Picker: No signal on given stock today.
- SwingMax: No signal on given stock today.
Options positioning is mixed (heavy put open interest but light put volume), which does not provide a clean “buy now” sentiment edge.
No notable hedge fund/insider trend and no congress/politician trading data to add conviction.
Practical trigger for a fast-entry style: consider it only if price reclaims and holds above the pivot (~11.66); otherwise, it’s a pass today.

Technical Analysis

Trend/Momentum: Bearish momentum persists; MACD histogram -0.103 and negatively expanding signals selling pressure is still increasing.
RSI: RSI_6 at 19.18 indicates deeply oversold conditions, which often precede short-term bounces—but oversold can stay oversold in downtrends.
Moving averages: Converging MAs suggest the prior trend is losing strength, but not yet reversing.
Key levels: Support S1 ~10.93 (very close to pre-market 10.99); if it breaks, next support S2 ~10.48. Resistance/pivot ~11.66; above that, R1 ~12.39.
Pattern-based odds (model on similar candlesticks): modest positive drift (next day +0.7%, next week +1.22%, next month +2.12%), but not strong enough to override current bearish momentum.

Options Data

Bearish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment (positioning): Open Interest Put/Call = 2.47 is put-heavy, typically read as cautious/bearish positioning or hedging demand.
Sentiment (flow): Volume Put/Call = 0.25 shows calls dominating today’s trading flow (more tactical bullishness than the OI suggests).
Volatility: IV 30D ~58.55 vs HV ~45.17 implies options are pricing elevated moves; IV percentile 75.2 = relatively expensive option premiums.
Activity: Total options volume is light (25 contracts), so the signal quality from flow is limited despite call-leaning volume.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

on 2026-02-26 pre-market (Est EPS 0.
can act as a near-term catalyst if results/guide surprise positively.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

suggests substantial hedging/bearish positioning still overhangs the name.
fails, downside opens toward S2 (~10.
quickly—unfavorable for an impatient “buy now” approach.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: $181.573M, +1.07% YoY (low growth).
Profitability: Net income $7.658M, -59.09% YoY (sharp decline).
EPS: $0.12, -57.14% YoY (material earnings compression).
Margin: Gross margin 55.33%, +8.92% YoY (a bright spot; suggests better unit economics, but not yet translating into bottom-line stability).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating/price target trend data was provided, so Wall Street consensus direction cannot be verified here.
Pro view (what would typically be argued): improving gross margin and continued product innovation could re-accelerate dealer ROI and monetization.
Con view (what would typically be argued): weak earnings trend (net income/EPS down sharply) reduces confidence until the next earnings/guide provides evidence of reacceleration.

4 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CARS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CARS is 19.33 USD with a low forecast of 16 USD and a high forecast of 25 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.

4 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 11.020

Low

Averages

19.33

High

Current: 11.020

Low

Averages

19.33

High

JPMorgan

Overweight

maintain

$15 -> $16

AI Analysis

2025-10-14

Reason

JPMorgan

Price Target

$15 -> $16

AI Analysis

2025-10-14

maintain

Overweight

Reason

JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Cars.com to $16 from $15 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm reduced franchise dealer estimates into the Q3 reports to reflect electrical vehicle mix and headwinds in the UK. The sector has "little room" for share re-ratings in the near-term and the risk/rewards are balanced in the medium-term, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan established December 2026 prices target December 2025 previously.

UBS

Neutral

maintain

$12 -> $11

2025-08-08

Reason

UBS

Price Target

$12 -> $11

2025-08-08

maintain

Neutral

Reason

UBS lowered the firm's price target on Cars.com to $11 from $12 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Cars.com reported "steady" results, but a slow inflection on growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

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CARS Should I Buy

CARS Should I Buy

Should You Buy Cars.com Inc (CARS) 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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