Should I Buy LKQ? LKQ 2026 Analysis

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

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

34.580

1 Day change

0.67%

52 Week Range

44.500

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: trend/momentum is still bearish (SMA200 > SMA20 > SMA5) and price is hovering just below the pivot (~34.22), implying weak near-term control by buyers.
Options sentiment is mildly bullish (low put/call OI), but very high IV percentile ahead of earnings suggests uncertainty is elevated rather than a clean bullish setup.
With no Intellectia buy signals today (AI Stock Picker/SwingMax both absent) and earnings on 2026-02-19 pre-market, risk/reward is not favorable for an impatient entry today.
Best stance right now: HOLD/WAIT rather than buy at 34.06; a better “buy now” case would require a confirmed reclaim of resistance (e.g., >36.10) or a pullback closer to support (~32.35) with improving momentum.

Technical Analysis

Price/Trend: Bearish moving-average stack (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5) indicates a prevailing downtrend.
Momentum: MACD histogram is negative (-0.0894) but contracting, suggesting downside momentum is weakening (not yet a reversal signal).
RSI: RSI_6 at 70.896 is elevated (near overbought territory), which often limits immediate upside and increases pullback risk.
Key levels: Pivot 34.221 (price 34.06 slightly below = weak). Support S1 32.346 then S2 31.187. Resistance R1 36.097 then R2 37.256.
Pattern-based forward bias: Similar-pattern stats imply modest upside next day/week (+0.58% / +1.52%) but negative next month (-2.38%), aligning with a choppy-to-down near-term trend.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment: Put/Call OI ratio 0.39 is bullish-leaning positioning (more calls than puts outstanding).
Flow: Put/Call volume ratio 0.71 is also modestly bullish (calls > puts), but not extreme.
Volatility: 30D IV 44.34 vs historical vol 29.76 and IV percentile 91.63 indicates options are priced for elevated uncertainty (consistent with upcoming earnings on 2026-02-19).
Activity: Today’s options volume is light vs recent averages (todays volume 459 vs 5D/10D averages >1000), so the sentiment read is not strongly confirmed by heavy trading.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Event catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-19 (pre-market) could reset expectations if EPS/margins surprise positively.
- Institutional interest: Seizert Capital Partners increased stake by 503,998 shares (reported 2026-02-03), supportive for the “value + shareholder return” narrative.
- Shareholder returns: News notes ongoing share buybacks and ~3.63% dividend yield—supportive under value-focused frameworks.
- Options positioning: Low put/call open interest ratio suggests positioning isn’t defensively skewed.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Technical overhang: Bearish MA structure suggests rallies may be sold until price proves it can reclaim resistance (R1 ~36.10).
- Elevated uncertainty: Very high IV percentile into earnings implies the market is bracing for a meaningful move; direction is not clearly signaled.
- Growth/margins softness in latest reported quarter: EPS and net income declined YoY and gross margin compressed.
- 1-year context: Shares noted down ~11.1% over the past year (per news summary), indicating persistent market skepticism.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter provided: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: $3.499B, +1.33% YoY (modest top-line growth).
Profitability: Net income $180M, -5.76% YoY (declining earnings power vs last year).
EPS: 0.70, -4.11% YoY (pressure on per-share profitability).
Margins: Gross margin 35.61%, down 1.63% YoY (margin compression is a key negative trend).
Takeaway: Financials show low growth with profitability/margin deterioration—doesn’t support an aggressive “buy right now” stance without a catalyst-driven reversal.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent coverage trend is mixed:
- 2025-12-09: Stephens initiated Overweight with $39 PT, calling LKQ “deep-value” with multiple paths to upside and a margin of safety via free cash flow.
- 2025-11-11: Barclays initiated Equal Weight with $33 PT (more neutral stance).
Wall Street pros: Value/FCF narrative, differentiated positioning in aftermarket + salvage distribution, shareholder returns (buybacks/dividend).
Wall Street cons: Neutral-to-mixed conviction across firms, and the market appears to be discounting growth/margin pressure until earnings show improvement.
Influential/congress trades: No recent congress trading data available; hedge funds and insiders flagged as Neutral with no significant recent trends.

6 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast LKQ stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for LKQ is 41.25 USD with a low forecast of 33 USD and a high forecast of 50 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

1 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 34.350

Low

Averages

41.25

High

Current: 34.350

Low

Averages

41.25

High

Stephens

Jeff Lick

Overweight

initiated

$39

AI Analysis

2025-12-09

Reason

Stephens

Jeff Lick

Price Target

$39

AI Analysis

2025-12-09

initiated

Overweight

Reason

Stephens analyst Jeff Lick initiated coverage of LKQ Corp. with an Overweight rating and $39 price target. The firm views LKQ as a "deep-value stock" with multiple paths to share upside. The company has a "differentiated position" in the U.S. as the only distributor of both aftermarket and salvage parts, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Stephens says the company is global distributor of aftermarket auto parts with a "margin of safety" in its free cash flow generation.

Barclays

Equal Weight

initiated

$33

2025-11-11

Reason

Barclays

Price Target

$33

2025-11-11

initiated

Equal Weight

Reason

Barclays initiated coverage of LKQ Corp. with an Equal Weight rating and $33 price target. The firm rolled out coverage on the auto retail sector with a neutral view. Sector fundamentals are mixed, but the dealers offer "resiliency and strong shareholder returns," the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays is constructive on the growth outlook for the digital auction marketplaces as it sees the companies gaining shared from physical auctions.

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

Unlock Now

LKQ Should I Buy

LKQ Should I Buy

Should You Buy LKQ Corp (LKQ) 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