Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Stock Price

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $161.00 to $159.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.21% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $134.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $94,051,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $103,428,000 after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $80,110,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 280.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $108,398,000 after acquiring an additional 594,744 shares during the period.

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.