American Eagle Stock May Be Flying Too High. Will This Bird Crash Soon?

December 17, 2025 at 10:00 AM EST

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) has surged 60% in the past year, recently hitting a new 3-year high.
AEO maintains a 100% “Buy” opinion from Barchart.
Fundamentals show modest revenue growth ahead but a near-term earnings dip.
Short interest is also high at more than 14% of the float.

Today’s Featured Stock

Valued at $4.64 billion, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is a specialty retailer of casual apparel, accessories, outerwear and footwear for men and women. It, along with its subsidiaries, engages in the designing and marketing of casual clothing.

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. AEO checks those boxes. Since the Trend Seeker signaled a new “Buy” on Nov. 12, the stock has gained 53.62%.

More Top Stocks Daily: Go behind Wall Street’s hottest headlines with Barchart’s Active Investor newsletter.

Barchart Technical Indicators for American Eagle Outfitters

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.

American Eagle hit a 3-year high of $27.42 on Dec. 17.

AEO has a Weighted Alpha of +78.37.
American Eagle has a 100% “Buy” opinion from Barchart.
The stock gained 59.42% over the past year.
AEO has its Trend Seeker “Buy” signal intact.
The stock recently traded at $27.41 with a 50-day moving average of $18.82.
American Eagle made 17 new highs and gained 55.27% in the last month.
Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 81.62.
There’s a technical support level around $26.87.

Don’t Forget the Fundamentals

$4.64 billion market capitalization.
21.96x trailing price-earnings ratio.
1.83% dividend yield.
Revenue is projected to grow 2.66% this year and another 3.23% next year.
Earnings are estimated to decrease 22.90% this year but rebound again by 21.12% next year.

Analysts and Investor Sentiment on American Eagle Outfitters

It looks like Wall Street is very split on this stock.

The Wall Street analysts tracked by Barchart have given 2 “Strong Buy,” 9 “Hold,” 1 “Moderate Sell,” and 1 “Strong Sell” opinion on the stock with price targets between $18 and $31.
Value Line rates it “Highest” but with a price target of $20 for a 30% decline. That doesn’t make sense.
CFRA’s MarketScope Advisor rates it a “Sell” with a price target of $20.
Morningstar thinks even with the stock’s recent runup, it’s 12% undervalued with a Fair Value of $34.83.
4,966 investors following the stock on Motley Fool think it will beat the market, while 669 think it won't.
22,880 investors are monitoring the stock on Seeking Alpha, which rates it a “Hold.”
Short interest is at a high of 14.3% of the float.

The Bottom Line on American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle has recently been flying high – maybe too high. Dividend analysts caution the dividend is at risk and short interest has grown to 14.3% of the float. If you have it, hold it but tighten your stop losses. If you’re thinking of buying it, a lot of other stocks have greater upside potential.

Today’s Chart of the Day was written by Jim Van Meerten. Read previous editions of the daily newsletter here.

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.

On the date of publication, Jim Van Meerten did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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