Key Takeaways

• Truist cut its Caterpillar price target to $1,027 from $1,100 on Oct. 30 and kept its Buy rating, a target 65% above the current share price.
• Caterpillar shares are 42% below their June high, even after record quarterly sales and a record $78 billion backlog.
• Analysts’ earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have risen over the past three months, so the selloff has come from the multiple investors will pay.
• Truist’s $1,027 needs investors to pay 34x forward earnings, a multiple Caterpillar hasn’t seen since the summer and far above its 19x five-year average, so the call looks too optimistic.

Caterpillar (CAT) just had its biggest sales quarter ever, and the stock keeps sliding: shares are 42% below…