Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Lifted to “Buy” at Citigroup

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $150.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $135.00. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.64% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on A. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.06.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $130.85 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $137.64 and its 200-day moving average is $137.78. The stock has a market cap of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% in the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.7% in the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

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.