Fastenal Company (FAST) Stock Price & Analysis
Market: NASDAQ • Sector: Industrials • Industry: Industrial - Distribution
Fastenal Company (FAST) Profile & Business Summary
Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company's fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines. It also offers miscellaneous supplies and hardware, including pins, machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire ropes, strut products, rivets, and related accessories. The company serves the manufacturing market comprising original equipment manufacturers; maintenance, repair, and operations; and non-residential construction market, which includes general, electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, and road contractors. It also serves farmers, truckers, railroads, mining companies, schools, and retail trades; and oil exploration, production, and refinement companies, as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities. The company distributes its products through a network of 3,209 in-market locations and 15 distribution centers. Fastenal Company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Winona, Minnesota.
Key Information
| Ticker | FAST |
|---|---|
| Exchange | NASDAQ |
| Official Site | https://www.fastenal.com |
Market Trend Overview for FAST
One model, two time views: what the market looks like right now, and where the larger trend is heading over time.
SRE (WhaleQuant Structural Regime Engine) SRE evaluates how price structure evolves across daily and weekly timeframes to define the prevailing market regime. Beyond identifying trends, consolidations, and exhaustion phases, it distinguishes between raw structural strength and deployable participation quality. The model dynamically adjusts for structural context and extension risk, assessing whether conditions are supportive, stretched, fragile, or structurally impaired. Its purpose is not to forecast precise price levels, but to determine whether risk deployment is aligned with underlying market structure.
Longer-Term Market Trend (Mid to Long Term)
Shows the bigger market trend, how strong it is, and where risks may start to build over the next few weeks or months. — Updated as of 2026-10-01 (ET)
As of 2026-10-01, FAST is moving sideways with low volatility. Over the longer term, the trend remains bullish.
FAST last closed at 50.23. The price is about 0.1 ATR above its recent average price (50.16), and the market is currently in a sideways market with low volatility. Price at 50.23 is moving between minor support near 50.22 and minor resistance near 50.42. Direction remains unclear. View Support & Resistance from Options
Price is moving in a tight range. This often leads to a stronger move once the range breaks, increasing one-sided risk.
Trend score: 40 out of 100. Overall alignment is unclear. The market is currently in a sideways phase with tightening price movement. The longer-term trend is still positive, but short-term signals are not yet confirming it.
A key downside risk boundary is near 47.94. If price falls below this area, the current structure would likely weaken further.
A systematic trend-activation signal was most recently triggered on 2026-09-23, reflecting a technical shift toward positive directional alignment.
[2026-09-21] Price moved quickly and looked strong, but participation was limited.
Recent bars show mixed price behavior without a clear shift in structural quality or efficiency.
There was no clear sign of meaningful positions being carried into the overnight session.
The model stays neutral because the setup is not clear enough to justify a directional deployment.
The model does not issue an actionable directional forecast. Predictability is 43%, agreement is 92%, and reversal risk is 17%.
NOTE: This next-day up/down probability forecast module is still being tested for accuracy. Please do not rely on it for investment decisions. The model does not account for black swan events or company-specific fundamental news, and its estimates are based solely on technical conditions, capital flow, and market sentiment. View forecast history
This estimate uses 1-minute price, volume, and VWAP data from the last 50 trading days, with turnover-based decay. The sample period is 2026-07-23 to 2026-10-01. The current price is 50.23, 0.97% above the estimated average cost of 49.75. An estimated 58.6% of recent positioning is below the current price, while 41.1% is above it. The peak-density price is 49.02. The largest concentrated cost region is 48.71 to 50.21 and contains 35.3% of the estimated distribution. The nearest region below the current price is 48.71 to 50.21. The nearest region above the current price is 50.33 to 51.51.
Short Interest & Covering Risk for FAST
This analysis looks at overall short interest positioning, focusing on the broader setup rather than short-term noise.
Shows how likely a short squeeze may be under current market conditions.
Short Exposure Percentile
Short interest is relatively low, indicating limited pressure from short positions. (Historical percentile: 11%)
Structure Analysis
FAST Short positioning looks normal. Current days to cover is 5.8 trading days, meaning short positions would unwind somewhat slower than average. Short covering is likely to have a normal impact on price moves. Early signs of positioning pressure are emerging (Fragility Score 42/100, DTC percentile 72%) as price consolidates near recent highs (20D return 4.8%) with short positioning continuing to expand and liquidity contracting meaningfully (volume -25%).
Risk Summary
Some early warning signs are emerging. Price strength remains intact, but underlying support may be starting to weaken.This indicator is intended as a risk filter, not a directional signal. A High or Extreme reading does not predict an immediate move, but suggests that if prices weaken, downside reactions may be more pronounced.
Why Price Reactions May Be Stronger?
In the latest reporting period, short interest continues to increase. Average trading volume is weakening, indicating contracting liquidity. Phase: Building. Adaptive thresholds applied to liquidity weakness, near-high detection, and compression sensitivity. Rising short pressure is occurring while liquidity is deteriorating. As a result, similar news or market events could lead to price moves about 2× larger than usual.
Note:
Short interest data is reported every two weeks by
FINRA.
The most recent snapshot is
2026-09-15 (ET).
Because this data updates slowly, it is not intended to predict short-term price moves. Instead, it helps describe longer-term market structure and where pressure may be building if prices begin to move.