Should I Buy KWR? KWR 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Quaker Chemical Corp (KWR) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

170.310

1 Day change

0.14%

52 Week Range

175.040

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/05

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 (pre-market $170.5): price is extended/overbought into resistance with no proprietary buy signal, making upside less attractive for an impatient entry.
Better entry (if you must act soon): wait for a pullback closer to the $160 pivot/support area; current level is already above R1 (~$170.0) and close to the next resistance zone.
Event timing: next major catalyst is QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-26 (after hours); absent news flow, risk/reward favors waiting.

Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals

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

Technical Analysis

Trend: bullish trend structure with SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200 (uptrend intact).
Momentum: MACD histogram +0.696 and expanding → bullish momentum continues.
Overbought/extension: RSI_6 ~79.7 → typically stretched/overbought, increasing odds of a near-term pause/pullback.
Levels: Pivot 160.259 (key support), S1 150.48; Resistance R1 170.039 (now marginally cleared pre-market), R2 176.08 (next upside target).
Pattern-based forward odds (from similar setups): modest near-term chop/down bias (-1.62% next week) with better odds over a month (+5.09% next month).

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment: very low put/call ratios (OI 0.3, volume 0.2) → bullish/optimistic options positioning.
Activity: today’s option volume 96 vs 30-day avg is ~738% → unusual interest, skewed to calls (calls 80 vs puts 16).
Volatility: IV 30d ~31.3% with IV percentile ~23 / IV rank ~4.5 → options are relatively cheap vs recent history, consistent with calmer pricing rather than panic hedging.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Revenue growth in latest reported quarter (2025/Q
at +6.83% YoY.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Near-term technical stretch: RSI indicates overbought conditions and price is pushing into resistance.
- Profitability pressure in 2025/Q3: net income -5.65% YoY, EPS -3.31% YoY, and gross margin down.
- Analyst mixed: Seaport downgraded to Neutral (from Buy).
- No news catalysts in the last week; without fresh drivers, upside from $170+ may be harder to sustain.
- No supportive flow signals: hedge fund and insider trends are neutral; no recent notable accumulation indicated.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q3
Revenue: $493.842M, +6.83% YoY (top-line growth positive).
Net income: $30.439M, -5.65% YoY (earnings quality weakening).
EPS: $1.75, -3.31% YoY.
Gross margin: 36.62%, down ~1.90% YoY (margin compression is the key negative trend).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

2026-01-21 (RBC Capital): reiterated Outperform, raised price target to $190 (from $171) on expectations of improvement drivers into 2026.
2026-01-23 (Seaport Research): downgraded to Neutral from Buy.
Wall Street pros/cons view:
- Pros: credible upside case if operational/company-specific initiatives lift results; PT raise supports medium-term upside.
- Cons: downgrade highlights skepticism and/or valuation/near-term execution concerns; recent quarter shows margin/earnings slippage despite revenue growth.

1 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast KWR stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for KWR is 171 USD with a low forecast of 171 USD and a high forecast of 171 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.

1 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 170.070

Low

171

Averages

171

High

171

Current: 170.070

Low

171

Averages

171

High

171

Seaport Research

Buy

Neutral

downgrade

AI Analysis

2026-01-23

Reason

Seaport Research

Price Target

AI Analysis

2026-01-23

downgrade

Buy

Neutral

Reason

Seaport Research downgraded Quaker Houghton to Neutral from Buy.

RBC Capital

Outperform

maintain

$171 -> $190

2026-01-21

Reason

RBC Capital

Price Target

$171 -> $190

2026-01-21

maintain

Outperform

Reason

RBC Capital raised the firm's price target on Quaker Houghton to $190 from $171 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares as part of a broader research note previewing Q4 for Specialty Chemicals. The firm is expecting in-line prints for Q4 and continues to see company-specific items driving improvement in 2026, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

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

Unlock Now

KWR Should I Buy

KWR Should I Buy

Should You Buy Quaker Chemical Corp (KWR) 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