Glossary·Written by a CPA

Analyst price target

A Wall Street analyst's estimate of where a stock's price could be, usually about 12 months out.

An analyst price target is the price a research analyst at a bank or brokerage thinks a stock could reach, usually over the next 12 months. It basically just comes out of their model of the company's future earnings or cash flow and a valuation multiple they think is fair.

You'll often see an average of all the targets, and news headlines love to report when a target gets raised or cut. But targets tend to chase the price... when a stock runs up, targets often get raised after the fact.

For you, the useful part isn't the number, it's the reasoning behind it. What growth is the analyst assuming, and do you actually believe it?

The catch. Price targets are opinions with a decent amount of guesswork built in, and they're often revised after a big move rather than before it.

Where I talk about it

Try it with your own numbers

Cheat sheet

Analyst price target cheat sheet: A Wall Street analyst's estimate of where a stock's price could be, usually about 12 months out.

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Related terms

Consensus estimate P/E ratio Forward P/E

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This is education, not tax or investment advice. I'm a CPA, but I'm not your CPA. Full disclaimer.