Should I Buy CTAS? CTAS 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Cintas Corp (CTAS) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

195.870

1 Day change

0.91%

52 Week Range

229.240

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/04

Should I buy Analysis is updated weekly. For real time "Should I Buy" analysis, please sign up to get free answers.

Not a good buy right now for an impatient buyer: price is sitting near resistance (R1 ~195.36) while the broader trend is still bearish (SMA200 > SMA20 > SMA5).
No Intellectia edge today (no AI Stock Picker or SwingMax signal), so there’s no “must-buy now” trigger.
Options positioning is moderately bullish (calls > puts), and fundamentals are strong (Q2 growth + margin expansion), but insider selling has accelerated materially, which offsets near-term upside.
If forced to act immediately: prefer HOLD over BUY at ~193; risk/reward improves closer to S1 ~187.47 / S2 ~185.03 or on a clean breakout and hold above ~195.36.

Technical Analysis

Trend/MAs: Bearish stack (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5) indicates the prevailing trend is still down despite today’s bounce.
Momentum: MACD histogram -0.303 (below zero) but negatively contracting = bearish momentum is easing, not yet flipped bullish.
RSI(6): 61.5 (neutral-to-slightly warm), consistent with a rebound attempt rather than a confirmed uptrend.
Levels: Pivot ~~191.41 is immediate reference; price (~~193.06) is above pivot (near-term support). Upside resistance at R1 ~195.36 then R2 ~197.80; downside support at S1 ~187.47 then S2 ~185.03.
Pattern-based odds: modeled next week bias is slightly negative (-1.99%), with a better 1-month tilt (+3.54%)—supports “not great now, better on dip/confirmation.”

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Positioning/Sentiment: OI put/call at 0.46 = call-heavy open interest (bullish tilt).
Flow today: volume put/call 0.82 (still call-leaning) with today volume ~2.86x 30D average = elevated attention.
Volatility: IV30 ~24.64 vs historical vol ~15.44 implies options are pricing a larger-than-recent move; IV percentile ~52 is mid-range (not extremely crowded).
Takeaway: options market is not bearish; sentiment leans bullish, but it’s not an extreme signal on its own.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Business execution remains strong: Q2 showed solid organic growth and margin improvement (supports premium-quality narrative).
- News sentiment mildly positive: recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for 2026—reinforces culture/employer brand (helpful for retention in a service business).
- Options positioning leans bullish (calls > puts), suggesting traders aren’t bracing for immediate downside.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Insider activity: insiders are selling and selling amount increased ~129.4% over the last month—often a near-term sentiment drag.
- Technical backdrop still bearish (moving-average stack and MACD below zero); current price is close to resistance, making upside less asymmetric.
- Analyst skepticism exists at least on valuation: Citi maintains a Sell with PT below current price (181 vs ~193).

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2026/Q2.
Revenue: $2.80B, +9.30% YoY (steady demand/growth).
Net income: $493.7M, +10.48% YoY (profit growth outpacing revenue).
EPS: $1.21, +11.01% YoY (healthy earnings momentum).
Gross margin: 50.45%, +1.22% YoY (improving profitability/operating quality).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent direction: price targets have been mixed but generally clustered above the current price, with several raises after Q2 strength (e.g., Wells Fargo to 205; Baird to 225), while UBS trimmed to 235 from 255 and Morgan Stanley trimmed to 210.
Ratings tone: mostly Neutral/Equal Weight/Market Perform with at least one Buy (UBS) and one notable Sell (Citi).
Wall Street “pros” case: high-quality compounder, resilient organic growth, improving margins, guidance/earnings durability.
Wall Street “cons” case: valuation/entry point concerns (multiple neutrals), and at least one firm explicitly bearish (Citi Sell) suggesting limited upside from here.

14 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CTAS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CTAS is 213.9 USD with a low forecast of 181 USD and a high forecast of 245 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

8 Hold

1 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 194.110

Low

181

Averages

213.9

High

245

Current: 194.110

Low

181

Averages

213.9

High

245

Citi

Sell

maintain

$176 -> $181

AI Analysis

2025-12-22

Reason

Citi

Price Target

$176 -> $181

AI Analysis

2025-12-22

maintain

Sell

Reason

Citi raised the firm's price target on Cintas to $181 from $176 and keeps a Sell rating on the shares.

Baird

Neutral

maintain

$220 -> $225

2025-12-19

Reason

Baird

Price Target

$220 -> $225

2025-12-19

maintain

Neutral

Reason

Baird raised the firm's price target on Cintas to $225 from $220 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated its model as it sees accelerating organic growth against a softening macro.

Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for CTAS

Unlock Now

CTAS Should I Buy

CTAS Should I Buy

Should You Buy Cintas Corp (CTAS) 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

People Also Watch