Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Stock Price

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $161.00 to $159.00 in a note issued to 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 would suggest a potential upside of 24.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $127.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.14. The firm has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 19.27%. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CKW Financial Group boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000.

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.