Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Raised to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Linde to “strong buy,” adding to broadly positive analyst sentiment. The stock has a consensus “buy” rating and an average price target of $547.29.
• Linde reported quarterly EPS of $4.50, narrowly beating estimates, while revenue rose 9.3% year over year to $9.29 billion. The company guided for fiscal 2026 EPS of $17.70–$17.90.
• Linde shares opened at $492.70, with a market capitalization of approximately $227.1 billion; institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.8% of the stock.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Barclays to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $542.00 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Linde from $580.00 to $560.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 target price on Linde and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $547.29.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $492.70 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business's 50 day moving average is $478.29 and its 200-day moving average is $498.13. The stock has a market cap of $227.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.71. Linde has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.09 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Linde will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its position in Linde by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in Linde by 1,450.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Linde

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related equipment and process technologies to customers in healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, food and beverage, electronics, and other industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases.

The company provides gases through on-site production facilities, pipelines, bulk deliveries and packaged cylinders. It also designs and builds industrial gas plants and offers technologies and services for applications such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, metal fabrication and medical care.

Linde traces its history to 1879, when German engineer Carl von Linde developed refrigeration and gas-related technologies.

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