Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Stock Price

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $175.00 to $165.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 41.51% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.71.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock traded down $8.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $116.60. 1,462,777 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,074,749. Agilent Technologies has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $160.27. The company has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $135.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.97.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical research company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.20% and a net margin of 18.75%.Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.040 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.390-1.420 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 98,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,631,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 10.5% during the third quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 1,027,970 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $131,909,000 after buying an additional 97,312 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 607,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $78,026,000 after buying an additional 22,498 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 80,698 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,523,000 after purchasing an additional 9,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 68,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,017,000 after purchasing an additional 17,817 shares during the period.

Key Agilent Technologies News

Here are the key news stories impacting Agilent Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2026 targets and highlighted margin programs — Agilent outlined a $7.3B–$7.5B FY26 revenue target and is expanding its “Ignite” operating system to drive margin improvement, signaling management confidence in top‑line growth and structural cost leverage. Agilent outlines $7.3B–$7.5B FY26 revenue target while expanding Ignite Operating System for margin growth
• Positive Sentiment: Company issued FY26 EPS guidance that brackets street expectations — Agilent set FY26 EPS at $5.90–$6.04 (consensus ~$5.93) and Q2 EPS at $1.39–$1.42 (broadly in line), providing a clear roadmap for the year and reducing near‑term forecast uncertainty. (Guidance reported in earnings release and slides.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results were broadly in line with Street estimates — revenue of ~$1.80B (≈+7% YoY) and EPS ~$1.36 were essentially in line with expectations; management said U.S. snowstorms disrupted shipments and weighed on the quarter. That helps explain the miss but leaves execution questions to watch. Agilent reports in-line first quarter, says results hurt by US snowstorm
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and slides available — the earnings call and slide deck walk through segment performance, Ignite initiatives and near‑term cadence; investors should review the transcript/slides for guidance sensitivity and margin assumptions. Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS/revenue misses and operating cash‑flow weakness pressured sentiment — Q1 EPS missed by $0.01 and revenue was a touch below consensus; some reports flagged a meaningful decline in operating cash flow vs. prior year, which raises short‑term liquidity and cash conversion concerns. Agilent Technologies earnings missed by $0.01, revenue fell short of estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/ownership dynamics add downside risk — large institutional rebalancing and recent insider sales (reported in filings/third‑party summaries) are noted by some data providers and could add selling pressure if execution slips. Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) Releases Q1 2026 Earnings: Revenue Up, EPS and Operating Cash Flow Miss

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, consumables, software and services for laboratories across the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The company’s product portfolio includes analytical instruments such as liquid and gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectroscopy systems, and laboratory automation solutions, together with reagents, supplies and informatics tools that support measurement, testing and data analysis workflows. Agilent also offers instrument maintenance, qualification and laboratory services designed to help customers improve productivity and comply with regulatory requirements.

Founded as a corporate spin-off from Hewlett‑Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved through a combination of strategic restructuring and acquisitions to concentrate on life sciences, diagnostics and applied laboratories.