Dark Forest Capital Management LP Purchases 34,273 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 918.8% during the first quarter, now owning 38,003 shares worth approximately $4.45 million.
• Analyst ratings for Agilent Technologies show a mixed outlook, with six analysts rating it a Buy and six assigning a Hold, as the stock's average price target is set at $139.25.
• Agilent reported $1.37 earnings per share in its last quarter, matching analyst expectations, and achieved a revenue of $1.74 billion, exceeding predictions of $1.67 billion.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 918.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,003 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 34,273 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $128.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,633,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,644. The company has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $119.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.34. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 17.97%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.560-5.590 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.570-1.600 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 29th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.25.

Agilent Technologies Profile

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.