Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Leerink Partners Analyst Says

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Leerink Partners to $135.00 in a report issued on Friday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Leerink Partners’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.72% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE A opened at $111.83 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $108.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.41. Agilent Technologies has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $31.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $456,963,000. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.8% in the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,983,556 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $582,976,000 after acquiring an additional 824,243 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $94,051,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $73,375,000 after buying an additional 623,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,836,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $448,748,000 after acquiring an additional 604,124 shares in the last quarter.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.