Should I Buy DV? DV 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy DoubleVerify Holdings Inc (DV) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

9.340

1 Day change

-1.27%

52 Week Range

23.110

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/04

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Not a good buy right now for an impatient trader: trend is still bearish (downward MAs + weakening MACD) and there are no Intellectia buy signals.
Price is sitting just above near-term support (~9.91); a clean break below support increases odds of a quick drop toward ~9.53.
Bullish positioning shows up in options (very low put/call OI ratio) and hedge funds are accumulating, but that’s not yet translating into positive price momentum.
A better “must-act-now” buy setup would be after DV reclaims the pivot (~10.52) and stabilizes, or after earnings (2026-02-26) if guidance resets sentiment upward.

Technical Analysis

Trend/Momentum: Bearish. SMA structure is negative (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), indicating a persistent downtrend.
MACD: Histogram -0.0958 and negatively expanding -> downside momentum is strengthening, not basing yet.
RSI (6): 24.1 -> technically oversold, which can trigger bounces, but oversold can persist in strong downtrends.
Key levels: Current 9.93 is just above S1 9.907 (critical near-term support). If S1 fails, next support S2 ~9.528. Upside levels: Pivot 10.523 then R1 11.138.
Pattern-based odds: Similar-pattern stats suggest muted/negative drift over 1W to 1M (-0.31% / -0.28%), not supportive of a chase entry.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment via positioning: Put/Call Open Interest ratio at 0.23 is call-heavy (bullish/less hedging demand).
Activity: Option volume is extremely light today (5 contracts; put volume 0), so sentiment signal is more from existing positioning than fresh conviction.
Volatility: IV(30d) 57.26 vs historical vol 36.3 -> options are pricing elevated uncertainty; good for sellers of premium, but it also reflects risk around catalysts (notably upcoming earnings).
Skew takeaway: Call-heavy OI suggests investors are leaning toward upside/rebound, but the tape/technicals haven’t confirmed a trend reversal.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Hedge funds are buying aggressively (reported buying amount +2338% QoQ), which can be supportive if it continues.
- Earnings catalyst ahead: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-26 (AH). A guidance reset or acceleration in Social/CTV/programmatic could re-rate the stock.
- Street narrative support: Multiple firms still rate Buy/Outperform; BofA upgraded to Buy citing DV as “only company left standing” in its niche.
- Operational lever: Analysts highlighted AI-driven efficiencies helping profitability (EBITDA beat in Q3 per notes), which could stabilize margins if revenue normalizes.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Technicals remain decisively bearish (downtrend MAs + MACD deterioration), increasing risk of support breakdown.
- Near-term growth concerns: Analysts repeatedly cited decelerating growth and volatile ad budgets; several price targets were cut sharply.
- Event risk: With elevated IV, the market is anticipating potentially meaningful earnings-driven movement; downside gap risk exists if guidance disappoints.
- No supportive news flow: No positive news catalysts in the last week to arrest the downtrend.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: $188.621M, +11.24% YoY (still growing, but Street commentary suggests growth is decelerating into H2).
Profitability: Net income $10.202M, -43.95% YoY; EPS $0.06, -40.00% YoY -> earnings power weakened despite revenue growth.
Margins: Gross margin 75.07%, down 1.39% YoY -> slight margin compression.
Quality of quarter: Top-line growth positive, but profit and EPS contraction indicates either higher costs/investment cycle or pricing/mix pressure (consistent with “transition year” commentary).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Trend: Broad price-target cuts across the board after Q3 and softer Q4 outlook; ratings mostly maintained (Buy/Outperform/Overweight), signaling lowered expectations rather than thesis abandonment.
Recent notable actions (2025-11-10 cluster):
- Stifel: Buy, PT cut to 15 (from 20).
- Goldman: Neutral, PT cut to 10.5 (from 13.5).
- JPMorgan: Overweight, PT cut to 17 (from 19).
- RBC: Outperform, PT cut to 20 (from 23).
- Morgan Stanley: Equal Weight, PT cut to 15 (from 16.5).
- BofA: Upgraded to Buy (from Neutral), PT 14 (down from 18).
Wall Street pros: Category leadership/“only player left,” secular tailwinds (CTV/social/programmatic), AI efficiency.
Wall Street cons: Macro/retail ad budget pressure, near-term deceleration, multiple expectation resets reflected in widespread PT cuts.
Influential/political trading: No recent congress trading data available; insiders reported neutral (no significant last-month trend).

15 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast DV stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for DV is 14.88 USD with a low forecast of 10 USD and a high forecast of 20 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.

9 Buy

5 Hold

1 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 9.460

Low

Averages

14.88

High

Current: 9.460

Low

Averages

14.88

High

Stifel

analyst

Buy

downgrade

$20 -> $15

AI Analysis

2025-11-10

Reason

Stifel

analyst

Price Target

$20 -> $15

AI Analysis

2025-11-10

downgrade

Buy

Reason

Stifel lowered the firm's price target on DoubleVerify to $15 from $20 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Q3 results and the Q4 guidance fell short of the mark on the top-line, though beat expectations on the bottom-line, the analyst noted. While the company did not give any guidance for next year yet, management's early thoughts suggested the "base case" reflects revenue growth of 10%, versus the Street at 11.7%, though the firm believes this revenue growth base case may prove to be conservative as the year plays out, the analyst added.

Goldman Sachs

Neutral

downgrade

2025-11-10

Reason

Goldman Sachs

Price Target

2025-11-10

downgrade

Neutral

Reason

Goldman Sachs lowered the firm's price target on DoubleVerify to $10.50 from $13.50 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. DoubleVerify's Q3 results were mixed, with volatile ad budgets pressuring near-term growth, though management remains focused on key secular themes such as social, CTV, and programmatic advertising, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The company continues to emphasize AI adoption to drive efficiency and reinvestment, with 2026 expected to sustain roughly 10% revenue growth and ~33% EBITDA margins.

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DV Should I Buy

DV Should I Buy

Should You Buy DoubleVerify Holdings Inc (DV) 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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