Wall Street Zen Downgrades Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) to Hold

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $116.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000.

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.