Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The medical research company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.33% and a net margin of 19.55%.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,706,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,229,222. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.10. Agilent Technologies has a 1-year low of $108.35 and a 1-year high of $160.51.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 3,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,519,000 after acquiring an additional 627,804 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 284,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,685,000 after acquiring an additional 99,385 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 60,542 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 17,052 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.24.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

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.