Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Update

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, an increase of 10.5% from the August 15th total of 2,860,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:A traded up $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $139.01. 1,351,503 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,715,516. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $137.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $40.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

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

Insider Activity 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 value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $938,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 29,590 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 325,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,281,000 after purchasing an additional 149,159 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,609,420 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $223,758,000 after purchasing an additional 343,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 26.2% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 4,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.60.

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.