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Why Investors Should Buy Agilent Technologies (A) Right Now

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A successful portfolio manager understands the importance of adding well-performing stocks to the portfolio at the right time. Indicators of a stock’s bullish run include a rise in share price and strong fundamentals.

Agilent Technologies (A - Free Report) is one such technology stock which has performed well so far this year and has the potential to sustain the momentum in the near term. So, if you haven’t taken advantage of the share price appreciation yet, it's time you add the stock to your portfolio.

Let’s delve deeper into the factors that make this stock an attractive investment option.

What Makes Agilent Technologies an Attractive Pick?

An Outperformer: Agilent has outperformed the Zacks categorized Electronic Testing Equipment industry in the year-to-date period. The stock has returned approximately 29.8% compared with the industry’s growth of roughly 24.2%.

Solid Rank & Growth Score: Agilent currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Growth Score of ‘B’. Our research shows that stocks with a Growth Style Scores of ‘A’ or ‘B’ combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 (Buy), offer the best investment opportunities in the growth investing space. These are fundamentally strong businesses aiming at making money for investors in the long run.Thus, the company appears to be a compelling investment proposition.

Upward Estimate Revision: Estimates for the current fiscal as well as fiscal 2018 moved north in the last 60 days, reflecting analysts’ confidence on Agilent. During this time, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2017 increased around 3.3% to $2.22. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2018 also inched up 2.4% during this time to $2.51.

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Agilent has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 11.68%.

Healthy Growth Prospects: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2017 earnings is currently pegged at $2.22, highlighting an anticipated year-over-year growth of 12.07%. Moreover, earnings are expected to register 13.16% growth in fiscal 2018. The stock has long-term expected earnings per share growth rate of 9.7%.

Other Growth Drivers: Agilent Technologies is a broad-based OEM of test and measurement equipment. The company has shifted its focus to life sciences, genomics, diagnostics and wireless test markets, in which it has made a few important acquisitions and alliances.

Agilent’s broad-based portfolio and increased focus on segments offer higher growth potential. The company’s decision to divest/wind up underperforming businesses has enhanced its focus on the new Agilent, while enabling expansion of a solid recurring revenue base and diversification of geographic and industrial operations for growth. Also, the company’s focus on aligning investments toward more attractive growth avenues and innovative product launches is a positive.

The company’s solid market position, acquisition strategy and increased focus on segments with growth potential remain major growth drivers.

Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are Red Hat , DST Systems Inc. and Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term expected EPS growth rates for Red Hat, DST Systems and Oracle are 14.9%, 10% and 10.3%, respectively.

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