Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.15.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $116.97 on Friday. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.46. The stock has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of A. Sienna Gestion increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,991 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,843,000 after purchasing an additional 10,128 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,621,000 after purchasing an additional 6,802 shares in the last quarter.

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.