Not a good buy right now for an impatient entry: the stock just surged to ~74.25 and is pressing into near-term resistance (around 74.04–75.53) with short-term momentum looking stretched.
With earnings on 2026-02-11 (after hours) and implied volatility elevated, the risk/reward for an immediate chase-buy is unattractive versus waiting for either a pullback or a post-earnings setup.
Net: HOLD (don’t chase this breakout attempt at resistance without a proprietary buy signal backing it).
Technical Analysis
Price/levels: Closed at 74.25, above the pivot (71.64) and essentially at/just above R1 (74.04); next resistance is R2 (~75.53). This is a “near-resistance” location rather than a clean low-risk entry.
RSI (6): ~72.23, which is stretched/near overbought conditions, consistent with a short-term cooling risk after the +5.56% regular-session move.
MACD: Histogram is negative (-0.101) but contracting, suggesting bearish momentum is fading; however it’s not a clean bullish trend confirmation yet.
Moving averages: Converging MAs typically imply a transition phase; today’s pop helps, but trend confirmation is still developing.
Pattern-based forward look (candlestick analogs): Skew mildly positive over 1-week to 1-month (+1.43% / +12.77%), but near-term (next day) slightly negative bias (-0.35%)—consistent with a pause after a sharp up-day.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Positioning (OI): Put/Call OI ratio ~0.93 (puts roughly comparable to calls) = fairly balanced hedging, not extreme fear.
Flow (volume): Put/Call volume ratio ~0.01 (calls dominated; 678 calls vs 6 puts) = strongly bullish near-term trading sentiment.
Volatility: 30D IV ~40.68 vs historical vol ~20.99 and IV percentile ~84% = options are expensive; market is pricing a bigger move (often seen ahead of earnings).
Activity: Today’s option volume is far above the 30D average (~332% of average), showing heightened attention/speculation into the upcoming event window.
Technical Summary
Sell
3
Buy
12
Positive Catalysts
Analyst tone improving: multiple firms have recently raised price targets and maintained Buy/Overweight stances, which can support flows.
Setup into earnings: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-11 (after hours) can act as an upside catalyst if results/guide surprise positively.
Options sentiment: call-heavy volume indicates traders are leaning bullish into the near-term.
Technical reclaim: price has moved above the pivot and is attempting to hold a higher range; if it clears ~75.53 (R2), it could open room for follow-through.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
and RSI(
is stretched, increasing odds of a near-term pullback/consolidation.
Financial Performance
Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: 2.694B, down -7.90% YoY (top-line contraction).
Net income: 40M, down -32.20% YoY.
EPS: 0.16, down -30.43% YoY.
Gross margin: 31.07%, up +0.32% YoY (small margin improvement, but not enough to offset revenue/earnings declines).
Takeaway: profitability pressure remains evident despite slightly better gross margin; the near-term bull case leans on a turnaround narrative into upcoming quarters.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend (last ~1 month): price targets have been raised across multiple firms while maintaining positive ratings (Buy/Overweight), signaling improving Street confidence.
Notable updates:
Argus (2026-01-22): PT to $80 from $70, Buy (expects earnings turnaround in coming quarters).
Citi (2026-01-21): PT to $83 from $77, Buy (better currency/sales environment; flags tariff risk).
Barclays (2026-01-16): PT to $78 from $75, Overweight (notes “flight to safety” enthusiasm but remains concerned on fundamentals; warns oil/currency headwinds for 2026).
BofA (2026-01-08): PT to $88 from $84, Buy (sees potential catalysts like PMI/rate cuts, but says they’re early).
Wall Street pros vs cons summary:
Pros: global reach + innovation narrative; multiple PT raises; expectation for earnings re-acceleration.
Cons: lingering concern about fundamentals and macro inputs (oil/currency/tariffs), and the recent financial trend still shows YoY declines.
People Also Watch
Wall Street analysts forecast IFF stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IFF is 80.66 USD with a low forecast of 68 USD and a high forecast of 89 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 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast IFF stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IFF is 80.66 USD with a low forecast of 68 USD and a high forecast of 89 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
3 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 73.430
Low
68
Averages
80.66
High
89
Current: 73.430
Low
68
Averages
80.66
High
89
Argus
Buy
maintain
$70 -> $80
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
Reason
Argus
Price Target
$70 -> $80
AI Analysis
2026-01-22
maintain
Buy
Reason
Argus raised the firm's price target on IFF to $80 from $70 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm has a favorable view of the company's innovative products and global reach, as well as their broad-based product applications across different markets, and while the company's growth trajectory has been flattened by geopolitical developments and high raw material costs, Argus expects earnings to turnaround in the next few quarters, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Citi
Buy
upgrade
$77 -> $83
2026-01-21
Reason
Citi
Price Target
$77 -> $83
2026-01-21
upgrade
Buy
Reason
Citi raised the firm's price target on IFF to $83 from $77 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the specialty chemicals group as part of a Q4 preview. Citi sees a better currency and sales environment for the sector, but with the potential for "fresh tariff risks."
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