Should I Buy FBNC? FBNC 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy First Bancorp (North Carolina) (FBNC) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

62.230

1 Day change

2.12%

52 Week Range

62.490

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/04

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Not a great buy right now for an impatient entry: price is extended short-term (RSI_6 ~75.9) and sitting just below near-term resistance (R1 ~61.30).
Trend is bullish (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200 and MACD expanding), so FBNC is a constructive hold and a buy on a pullback toward ~59.10 (pivot) rather than chasing post-market strength.
Options positioning is very call-skewed (put/call OI ratio 0.06), but today’s options volume is effectively zero—sentiment is bullish, yet not strongly “confirmed” by active trading.
Financial momentum (2025/Q4) and recent analyst upgrades support the medium-term bull case, but pattern-based forward odds flag weaker 1-month expectancy (-5.81%), which makes the immediate entry less attractive.

Technical Analysis

Trend/structure: Bullish alignment (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) suggests the primary trend is up.
Momentum: MACD histogram +0.116 and expanding = improving upside momentum.
Overbought/near-term risk: RSI_6 at ~75.9 indicates the stock is stretched; upside may be limited near resistance before a digestion/pullback.
Levels: Pivot ~59.11 (first area to defend); Resistance R1 ~61.30 then R2 ~62.66. Current post-market ~60.57 is closer to resistance than support.
Quant pattern read-through: Similar-pattern stats imply modest near-term upside (next day/week) but negative 1-month expectation (-5.81%), aligning with “don’t chase here.”

Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals

AI Stock Picker: No signal on given stock today.
SwingMax: No signal on given stock recently.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Positioning: Extremely call-heavy open interest (put OI 7 vs call OI 108; OI put/call 0.06) = bullish skew.
Activity: Options volume is 0 today (no call or put volume), so sentiment is inferred from positioning rather than active flow.
Volatility: IV (30d) ~40.23 while IV percentile ~10.76 / IV rank ~8.03 = relatively low IV vs recent history; options are not pricing big moves.
Interpretation: Bullish tilt, but lack of volume reduces signal strength for an immediate “must-buy now.”

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

and Keefe Bruyette Outperform with PT raised to $
- 2025/Q4 fundamentals improved sharply (revenue +15.58% YoY; net income +332.75% YoY; EPS +322.22% YoY), supporting the uptrend narrative.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

makes a near-term pullback/consolidation more likely than immediate clean upside.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q4.
Revenue: $74.36M, +15.58% YoY (solid growth).
Net income: $15.71M, +332.75% YoY (major profitability improvement off a weaker prior base).
EPS: $0.38, +322.22% YoY (strong earnings acceleration).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend is positive: upgrades/target raises in January.
2026-01-07: Raymond James upgraded to Strong Buy (PT $62), citing improving fundamentals, potential NIM expansion, stronger loan growth, and leverage to lower rates; also highlights capital strength and buyback capacity.
2026-01-26: Keefe Bruyette reiterated Outperform and raised PT to $65 from $62.
Wall Street pros: improving fundamentals, capital/asset quality, and potential rate tailwinds.
Wall Street cons: shares are already strong near resistance; near-term upside may be capped without a pullback or fresh catalyst.

Politicians/Congress: No recent congress trading data available (last 90 days). Influential-figure trading: none indicated in the provided dataset. Hedge/Insider trends: both neutral (no significant recent activity).

3 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast FBNC stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FBNC is 60.67 USD with a low forecast of 58 USD and a high forecast of 62 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: 60.940

Low

Averages

60.67

High

Current: 60.940

Low

Averages

60.67

High

Piper Sandler

Overweight -> Neutral

downgrade

$58 -> $64

AI Analysis

2026-02-06

New

Reason

Piper Sandler

Price Target

$58 -> $64

AI Analysis

2026-02-06

New

downgrade

Overweight -> Neutral

Reason

Piper Sandler downgraded First Bancorp to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $64, up from $58.

Keefe Bruyette

Outperform

maintain

$62 -> $65

2026-01-26

Reason

Keefe Bruyette

Price Target

$62 -> $65

2026-01-26

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Keefe Bruyette raised the firm's price target on First Bancorp to $65 from $62 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares.

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FBNC Should I Buy

FBNC Should I Buy

Should You Buy First Bancorp (North Carolina) (FBNC) 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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