Caterpillar Stock Is Anything but Boring as a Data Center Boom Lifts Shares 170%

• Caterpillar (CAT) is the global leader in construction and mining equipment, recently reaching an all-time high of $905.
• CAT exhibits strong technical momentum with shares up 170% over the past year.
• The stock maintains a 100% “Buy” technical opinion from Barchart.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, but most expect CAT to benefit from infrastructure and data center booms.

Today’s Featured Stock

Valued at $414 billion, Caterpillar (CAT) is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. 

What I’m Watching

I found today’s Chart of the Day by using Barchart’s powerful screening functions to sort for stocks with the highest technical buy signals; superior current momentum in both strength and direction; and a Trend Seeker “buy” signal. I then used Barchart’s Flipcharts feature to review the charts for consistent price appreciation. CAT checks those boxes. The Trend Seeker issued a new “Buy” signal on April 9. Since then, the stock has gained 11.65%.

Barchart Technical Indicators for Caterpillar

Editor’s Note: The technical indicators below are updated live during the session every 20 minutes and can therefore change each day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com website when you read this report. These technical indicators form the Barchart Opinion on a particular stock.

Caterpillar scored an all-time high of $905.00 on May 1.

• Caterpillar has a Weighted Alpha of +168.56.
• CAT has a 100% “Buy” opinion from Barchart.
• The stock has gained 171.04% over the past 52 weeks.
• Caterpillar has its Trend Seeker “Buy” signal intact.
• The stock recently traded at $889.67 with a 50-day moving average of $752.67.
• CAT has made 11 new highs and gained 22.32% over the past month.
• Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 70.21.
• There’s a technical support level around $877.83.

Don’t Forget the Fundamentals

• $414 billion market capitalization.
• 43.7x trailing price-earnings ratio.
• 0.69% dividend yield
• Analysts project revenue to grow 12.13% this year and another 8.40% next year.
• Earnings are estimated to increase 26.62% this year and an additional 20.06% next year.

Analyst and Investor Sentiment on Caterpillar

• The Wall Street analysts followed by Barchart give the stock 13 “Strong Buy” and 11 “Hold” opinions with price targets between $430 and $960. That’s a very wide range.
• Value Line ranks the stock “Highest” with 3–5-year price targets between $545-$737.
• CFRA’s MarketScope rates the stock a “Sell” with a price target of $700.
• Morningstar thinks the stock is 30% overvalued with a fair value of $680.
• 234,170 investors are following the stock on Seeking Alpha, which rates it a “Hold.”
• Short interest is a low 1.63% of the float with 3.59 days to cover the float.

The Bottom Line on Caterpillar

Most investors think we are in the beginning of a data center and infrastructure building boom. Caterpillar will provide the equipment to accomplish that.

Additional disclosure: The Barchart Chart of the Day highlights stocks that are experiencing exceptional current price appreciation. They are not intended to be buy recommendations as these stocks are extremely volatile and speculative. Should you decide to add one of these stocks to your investment portfolio it is highly suggested you follow a predetermined diversification and moving stop loss discipline that is consistent with your personal investment risk tolerance.