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

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) saw a large increase in short interest during 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 short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.60.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $2.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $140.73. The company had a trading volume of 501,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,710,729. The firm has a market cap of $41.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of A. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.