Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Agilent Technologies was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold” in a recent research note.
• Despite the downgrade, the stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus overall, with 2 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, and 4 Hold ratings and an average price target of $159.35.
• Agilent recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $1.49 EPS on $1.83 billion in revenue, and raised guidance for FY 2026 EPS to $6.00–$6.10.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $153.00 price objective for the company. HSBC cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $159.35.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $138.65 on Friday. Agilent Technologies has a one year low of $108.35 and a one year high of $160.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical research company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.08. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 24.33%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.000-6.100 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.480-1.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Agilent Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,147,601 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,925,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713,216 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,681,792 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,725,611,000 after purchasing an additional 241,029 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,425,861 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,006,519,000 after purchasing an additional 25,139 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,041,881 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $686,049,000 after purchasing an additional 692,202 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $549,158,000.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.