Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Stock

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Citigroup to $165.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 22.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.51 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $135.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agilent Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 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.