Analysts at Bernstein have raised Agilent Technologies' price target to $180 from $155, maintaining an Outperform rating, following a stronger-than-expected third-quarter performance and a faster-than-anticipated rebound in China.
The reassessment aligns with upgrades from TD Cowen and RBC Capital, both of which also raised their price targets to $180 and $185 respectively. Stifel similarly increased its target to $180. Agilent's stock, which closed at $158.06 on Wednesday, has gained roughly 35% over the past three months and 28% over six months.
The company reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $1.88 billion, with core organic growth of 7.3%, exceeding its guidance range of 4.4% to 5.9% and the consensus estimate of 5.4%. Gross margin reached 56.4%, above the consensus of 54.2%, while operating margin stood at 28.3%, compared with a consensus of 26.4%. Earnings per share totaled $1.62, surpassing the consensus of $1.49 by 8.8%.
Bernstein adjusted its 2027 valuation multiples, lifting the price-to-earnings ratio from 23 to 26 times and the enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple from 19 to 22 times. The stock's current P/E stands at 31.68, with a 52-week high of $160.51.
Analysts attributed the upgrades to Agilent's robust performance in the pharmaceutical sector, improved guidance, and tailwinds from reshoring trends. Stifel also highlighted strong growth in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and Advanced Therapies as key drivers.
