Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays cut its price target on Rockwell Automation from $450 to $400 but kept an Overweight rating, implying about an 8.6% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $406.67, while several firms (including Jefferies and Wells Fargo) have recently lowered targets or downgraded the stock.
• Operationally, Rockwell beat quarterly EPS and revenue and set FY2026 guidance of $11.40–$12.20 EPS, but insiders have sold roughly 49,228 shares (~$20M) over the past 90 days.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by analysts at Barclays from $450.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 8.58% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $360.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $406.67.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $9.51 on Wednesday, reaching $368.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 571,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,010,051. The business's fifty day moving average price is $390.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $382.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $41.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.15, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.53. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $438.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.92% and a net margin of 11.56%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total value of $812,599.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,217.32. This trade represents a 32.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 12,100 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.27, for a total value of $4,891,667.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,932,094. This trade represents a 49.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 49,228 shares of company stock worth $19,992,391 over the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,527,249,000 after purchasing an additional 114,469 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,996,130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,943,844,000 after purchasing an additional 202,705 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,133,397,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,921,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,136,801,000 after buying an additional 276,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $818,986,000 after buying an additional 24,719 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Rockwell Automation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ROK launched a new ROKStudios video series highlighting the shift from automation to autonomy — a marketing/positioning push that can help sales cycles for software and services over time. Rockwell Automation Announces ROKStudios Video Series Launches a New Season Exploring the Journey from Automation to Autonomy
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird trimmed its price target to $410 but remains above the current share price — this preserves upside expectations from some sell‑side analysts and can act as a support for the stock. Robert W. Baird Lowers Rockwell Automation NYSE: ROK Price Target to $410.00
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent valuation piece reviews ROK’s rebound and longer‑term gains — useful context for investors assessing whether current valuation (P/E ~42) already prices in growth from software and services. A Look At Rockwell Automation’s Valuation After Recent Share Price Rebound And Longer Term Gains
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded ROK from Buy to Hold and cut its price target to $380 (from $490), citing limited re‑rating potential — a clear headwind for sentiment given Jefferies’ prior bullish stance. Rockwell downgraded at Jefferies on limited re-rating potential Rockwell Automation Downgraded by Jefferies, Key Price Target Drops to $380
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target to $360 and moved to an Equal Weight rating — that PT sits below the recent trade level, creating a near‑term downside reference that can pressure the stock. Wells Fargo lowers PT to $360

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.

The company's product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.

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