Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Now Covered by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $157.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on A. Bank of America boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $135.00 price target (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $141.60.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.4 %

A stock opened at $141.07 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $134.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were 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 $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,874 shares of company stock worth $2,811,770 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

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.