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What's in the Offing for Agilent (A) This Earnings Season?

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Agilent Technologies (A - Free Report) is set to report fiscal first-quarter 2021 results on Feb 16. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 7.7%.

The stock outperformed earnings estimates thrice and matched once in the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 12.1%.

Trend in Estimate Revision

For the fiscal first quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has increased 1.1% to 89 cents per share over the past 30 days. This indicates growth of 9.9% from the year-ago reported figure.

The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $1.43 billion, implying growth of 5.5% from the year-ago reported figure.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for this announcement.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Agilent Technologies, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Agilent Technologies, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Agilent Technologies, Inc. Quote

Factors to Note

During the fiscal first quarter, Agilent continued to take all the necessary steps to reduce expenses and expand presence in the expanding healthcare market.

Its expanding product portfolio must have been a key growth driver. The company increased investments in fast-growing markets such as biopharma. This is anticipated to have served as a tailwind for Agilent in the quarter.

Markedly, continued strength in China was witnessed in the quarter across all end markets and business groups.

The company’s Diagnostics and Genomics Group (DGG) is expected to have performed well in the to-be-reported quarter, driven by growth in pharma, as well as strength in genomics.

Also, Life Sciences & Applied Markets Group (LSAG) is expected to have performed well driven by improving conditions across geographies, led by growth in Food and Pharma. Strength in Cell Analysis and Mass Spectrometry is also expected to have aided the results.

Markedly, Agilent Cross Lab Group (ACG) is expected to have expanded in the quarter, driven by improving lab operating environment. Also, broad-based growth was seen across major markets and regions served.

Agilent expanded its share in next-gen sequencing, which is expected to have driven the top line in the pathology business. Also, the API business growth must have given a boost to the top line in the quarter.

The company’s focus on aligning investments toward more attractive growth avenues and innovative product launches is expected to have aided its performance.

The consensus mark for revenues from ACG, DGG and LSAG is pegged at $495 million, $260 million and $667 million, indicating 5.3%, 4.4% and 4.5% year-over-year growth, respectively.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Agilent this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: The company has an Earnings ESP of +4.64%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Agilent has a Zacks Rank #3.

Other Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are a few other stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to deliver an earnings beat in the upcoming releases.

Rocket Companies, Inc. (RKT - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.12% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Workday, Inc. (WDAY - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.90% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (LSCC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and holds a Zacks Rank of 3.

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