Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $331.61, but opened at $316.17. Carpenter Technology shares last traded at $320.0520, with a volume of 871,949 shares.

More Carpenter Technology News

Here are the key news stories impacting Carpenter Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EPS beat and improved profitability — CRS reported $2.33 GAAP EPS (beat consensus ~$2.20) and delivered record quarterly operating income; net margin and ROE expanded year‑over‑year. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Raised full‑year operating income guidance — Management increased FY26 operating income guidance after the quarter, signaling confidence in near‑term demand and margins. Guidance Raise
• Positive Sentiment: End‑market strength in aerospace & defense — Management cited accelerating aerospace & defense demand, higher sequential bookings and closed long‑term aerospace agreements that should support revenue visibility. GlobeNewswire Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue up year‑over‑year but slightly below estimates — Sales grew ~7.5% YoY to $728M but missed the ~$734M consensus, leaving some near‑term growth questions. Zacks Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational details available — Management provided a slide deck and call transcript with segment margin detail (specialty alloys outperformed guidance). Useful for modeling but contains both upside and timing risks. Press Release / Slides
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and profit‑taking — Despite the beat and guide lift, shares traded lower today as some investors may be locking gains after a strong run (stock near its 52‑week high). MarketBeat Quote
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and near‑term sensitivity — CRS trades at an elevated P/E (~39) and PEG (~1.46); missing revenue or execution could pressure the multiple. Valuation Data

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRS has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research cut Carpenter Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $425.00 price target on shares of Carpenter Technology and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Carpenter Technology from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Jones Trading started coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Carpenter Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.14.

Carpenter Technology Trading Down 5.1%

The company has a current ratio of 4.44, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $324.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.35.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.76 million. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Carpenter Technology news, COO Brian J. Malloy sold 43,688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.45, for a total transaction of $13,300,811.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 78,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,013,493.75. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.25, for a total transaction of $1,252,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,082,072.50. The trade was a 28.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 79,358 shares of company stock worth $24,254,008 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRS. Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new position in Carpenter Technology in the third quarter valued at about $136,215,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,790,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the second quarter worth $106,683,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 171.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 606,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $190,951,000 after purchasing an additional 382,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 111.6% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 617,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,731,000 after purchasing an additional 325,919 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts. It serves to aerospace, defense, medical, transportation, energy, industrial, and consumer markets.