Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Raised to "Overweight" at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan upgraded Linde from "neutral" to "overweight" and raised its price target to $525 from $455, implying roughly a 5.8% upside from the prior close.
• Solid quarterly results and guidance: Linde reported $4.20 EPS (vs. $4.18 expected) and $8.76B revenue, and set Q1 2026 guidance of $4.20–4.30 and FY2026 guidance of $17.40–17.90 EPS.
• Market view and insider activity: Analysts hold a consensus "Buy" with an average target of $515.20, while company insiders have been net sellers this quarter (about 20,332 shares sold), leaving insiders owning roughly 0.70% of the stock.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $525.00 target price on the basic materials company's stock, up from their prior target price of $455.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 5.77% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $515.20.

Linde Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of LIN stock traded up $5.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $496.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 623,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,649,635. The company has a market cap of $230.00 billion, a PE ratio of 34.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $466.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.38. Linde has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $510.65.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LIN. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Linde by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,829 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, PeakShares LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,044,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Linde

Linde NASDAQ: LIN is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany's Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde's business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.

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