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Agilent Hits 15-Year High As Q2 Earnings Point To Revived Growth

Shares of scientific-instrument maker Agilent Technologies ( A ) popped to a 15-year high above 45 in early trading Tuesday after the company beat fiscal Q2 estimates and raised guidance late Monday. The 16% earnings growth and 6% top-line growth were the highest since Q1 2012, and a vindication of CEO Michael McMullen’s strategy since he attained his position just over a year ago, according to Evercore ISI analyst Ross Muken. “We see Mike’s vision of superior top-line growth, an inflection in operating margins and improved free cash flow/deployment as a differentiating factor vs. LST (life-science tools) peers going forward,” Muken wrote in a research note, raising his price target to 48 from 43 while affirming a buy rating. Agilent’s peers include Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ) and Danaher ( DHR ). Leerink analyst Dan Leonard raised his price target to 51 from 44 while keeping an outperform rating. He noted that in addition to lifting its organic-growth guidance for this year to 4.5%, the company had offered a glimpse into next year. “Management offered an initial view of fiscal 2017, projecting 4.5% organic revenue growth, and reiterated its commitment to target 22% operating margins,” Leonard wrote. “Assumptions for growth include continued momentum in biopharma and China, which are expected to sustain throughout the second half of 2016 and full-year 2017, and the C&E (chemical & energy) market bottoming out by year-end.” Agilent stock early Tuesday hit its highest point since January 2001, at 45.34, though in afternoon trading it was up just 2.5%, near 44. The move broke the stock out of a consolidation that had been going for over a year. The stock’s Relative Strength and Accumulation/Distribution ratings have both been improving over the last couple of weeks, reaching 82 and B, respectively, both well above average.

In The Top-Performing Utility Sector, These 4 Groups Stand Out

If you don’t think the market’s still defensive, you haven’t been paying close enough attention to IBD’s 197 industry group rankings. Sure, some growth stocks are working, but many others are not. Meanwhile, defensive areas of the market — namely utility, gold, food and tobacco stocks — continue to hold up. Utilities lagged Tuesday on rate-hike jitters, but the sector is still home to plenty of interesting names. Utilities Select Sector SPDR ( XLU ), the sector’s most popular ETF, is setting up in a tight, flat base with a conventional entry at 49.88. Duke Energy ( DUK ),  a top holding of the exchange-traded fund with a dividend yield of 4.1%, is working on a long cup-with-handle base with an 81.49 buy point. At one point Tuesday, it was less than 2% below the buy point. Earnings growth and sales growth have both been uneven in recent quarters, but that’s not uncommon in the utility space. Leadership remains broad in the utility sector, but some groups inside the sector are acting better than others. One of the better-performing groups, recently ranking inside the top 10, is Utility-Water Supply. But two top-rated leaders in the group, small cap Middlesex Water ( MSEX ) and American Water Works ( AWK ), are extended too far past proper buy points. Not to worry, though. The Utility-Diversified group, which recently ranked inside the top 20, boasts several top performers with healthy charts. WEC Energy ( WEC ) is still in buy range from a prior 58.11 entry. It yields 2.8%. In its latest reported quarter, sales jumped 58% from the year-ago quarter to $2.2 billion, helped by its $9.1 billion acquisition of natural gas utility Integrys last year. Also in the group, Avangrid ( AGR ) started trading in mid-December and yields around 4.2%. The company was formed as a result of a merger late last year between Spanish firm Iberdrola and UIL Holdings. At the end of 2015, Avangrid’s renewable energy subsidiary was the second-largest wind producer in the U.S. with 5.6 gigawatts of wind generation capacity, operating 53 wind farms in 18 states. Electricity providers are another area of strength. Great Plains Energy ( GXP ) has been hugging its 10-week moving average as it works on a flat base with a 32.84 buy point. When the company reported Q1 results early this month, earnings and sales growth accelerated from Q4, rising 42% and 4%, respectively. Great Plains currently yields 3.3%. Portland General Electric ( POR ) is retreating back to a 40.57 entry within a three-month flat-base entry. Among gas distributors, One Gas ( OGS ) is working on a flat base with a 62.35 entry. A Composite Rating of 89 is helped by a consistent track record of annual earnings growth since 2012. But in One Gas’ latest reported quarter, sales fell 25% to $508.4 million, hurt by lower rates and warmer weather.

Will Apple Rival Xiaomi Make Splash At Google I/O?

Xiaomi, Apple ’s ( AAPL ) rival in China, might make a splash at Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google I/O developer conference, which runs Wednesday through Friday. Xiaomi was the top smartphone seller in China in Q4, followed closely by China’s Huawei, with Apple down at No. 3. Hugo Barra, vice president for global at Xiaomi, joined the company in 2013 after leaving Google, where he had worked on mobile products and the Android mobile operating system. Google is expected to disclose more details for Android N, the next major update of the mobile OS, due for release this year. On Twitter, Barra teased that he’s “thrilled to share that Xiaomi will be a part of Google I/O.” There’s also growing speculation Google might provide some details on “Project Chirp,” its answer to Amazon.com ’s ( AMZN ) Echo home electronics hub. Smart-thermostat maker Nest Labs, acquired by Google in 2014, seems to be struggling, and Google’s “Other Bets” are not expected to have a big profile at the developer conference. Any new products and technologies coming to Google I/O will likely be unveiled by Google CEO Sundar Pichai in his keynote address , scheduled for 10 a.m. PT Wednesday. In a recent letter to Google shareholders, Pichai touted plans for artificial intelligence. While Apple and Google have dominated in the world of mobile apps, there could be more competition down the road. Facebook ( FB ) recently introduced “chatbots,” while  Microsoft ( MSFT ) launched its “Bot Framework” software tools for developers. Both rely on AI. Some observers expect chat bots to be a topic in Pichai’s keynote. Alphabet stock was down a fraction in afternoon trading in the stock market today . Shares broke out of a cup-with-handle base on April 16 at a 777.41 buy point, but Alphabet’s Q1 earnings report on April 21 disappointed, sending shares falling more than 5%.