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Agilent Technologies (A) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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Agilent Technologies (A - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $126.29, moving -0.94% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.64% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.01%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 4.13%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the scientific instrument maker had lost 8.7% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.69% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.13% in that time.

Agilent Technologies will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be May 23, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.27, up 12.39% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.67 billion, up 3.77% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.68 per share and revenue of $7.07 billion, which would represent changes of +8.81% and +3.3%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Agilent Technologies. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% higher within the past month. Agilent Technologies currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Agilent Technologies is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 22.54. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 24.15, so we one might conclude that Agilent Technologies is trading at a discount comparatively.

Meanwhile, A's PEG ratio is currently 1.88. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. A's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.6 as of yesterday's close.

The Electronics - Testing Equipment industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 40, which puts it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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