Royal Bank Of Canada Raises Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target to $552.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Linde to $552 (from $512) and maintained an "outperform" rating, implying about a 9.06% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts have pushed targets higher—Citigroup to $580 and UBS to $579—leaving Linde with a consensus target of $527.80 and an overall "Buy" rating from most firms.
• Linde beat Q1 estimates (EPS $4.20 vs. $4.18) and provided guidance of Q1 2026 EPS 4.20–4.30 and FY 2026 EPS 17.40–17.90, underpinning the bullish analyst outlook.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $512.00 to $552.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.06% from the stock's previous close.

LIN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $527.80.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN traded down $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $506.15. 112,785 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,524,543. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.54 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.78. Linde has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $510.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $494.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $454.57.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. 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, research analysts predict that Linde will post 17.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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