Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Given New $145.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price target upped by research analysts at Evercore ISI from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “in-line” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.61% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on A. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock traded down $2.59 on Tuesday, hitting $145.89. 421,637 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,395. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $42.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $139.21 and a 200 day moving average of $139.01.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,953 shares of company stock worth $2,013,630 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% during the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.5% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.7% during the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.4% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently 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.