Nutrien stock slowly forms cup & handle as fertilizer prices rise

Nutrien stock price has staged a strong comeback, reaching its highest point since September 2022. It jumped to $82, up by 100% from its lowest point during the pandemic, with the rally accelerating amid the ongoing Iran war. This surge has pushed its market capitalization to over $38 billion. It may continue rising after forming a cup-and-handle pattern.

Nutrien stock soars as fertilizer prices jump 

The NTR stock price continued its strong rally this week as the Iran war continued. This war is widely seen as being bullish for Nutrien, a top company in the fertilizer industry.

While crude oil is the main focus on the Strait of Hormuz closure, fertilizer is another major commodity that is being affected as most of it is made in the Middle East.

While fertilizer production is continuing, the main challenge is transporting it through the Strait of Hormuz. This, in turn, will now benefit a company like Nutrien, which makes most of its products in the United States and Canada as fertilizer prices jump.

The most recent results showed that the company's business is doing well, as evidenced by the most recent financial results.

Data showed that its fertilizer volume has continued rising in the past few years, moving from 26.2 million tons in 2023 to over 27.5 million last year.

Its retail adjusted EBITDA has jumped from $1.46 billion to $1.74 billion in the same period. This profitability happened as the company continued cutting its costs, with the capital expenditure falling from $2.6 billion to $2.0 billion last year.

The growing profitability has pushed it to continue boosting its shareholders returns, with the number of outstanding shares falling from 507 million to 482 million, while the dividend per share rising to $2.18.

Nutrien stock has jumped as the company continued its turnaround measures, including disposals worth over $900 million last year. It is hoping to continue the disposal, especially its phosphate business and its operations in Trinidad.

Wall Street analysts are optimistic that Nutrien’s business will continue doing well this year. Data compiled by Yahoo Finance shows that the company will make $5.22 billion this quarter, up by 7.32%. Its annual revenue is expected to move to $26.46 billion this year.

There are also signs that the company is cheap. Data shows that the company has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 15, lower than the sector median of 17. 

Nutrien share price technical analysis 

NTR stock chart | Source: TradingView 

The weekly chart shows that the Nutrien share price has done well in the past few months. It moved from a low of $42 in December 2024 to the current $80.

The stock made a golden cross pattern as the 50-week and 200-week Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) crossed each other.

It is slowly forming a cup-and-handle pattern, a common bullish continuation sign whose upper side is at $102 and the lower side is at $42. 

Top oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Percentage Price Oscillator (PPO) have continued rising.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the stock continues rising, with the next key target being at $102, which is up by 25% above the current level.