Agilent Technologies Shares Fall After Slower Sales From China

By Patrick Thomas

Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) shares fell about 12% to $67.11 after the California manufacturer of laboratory equipment reported slower sales of its life-sciences instruments in China.

As a result, the firm lowered its revenue forecast for the current fiscal year to between $5.09 billion and $5.13 billion from between $5.15 billion and $5.19 billion.

In the latest period Agilent also posted lower-than-expected total revenue and said sales from its life sciences and applied markets business fell 1% from a year earlier.

Despite the weaker results, some analysts remain bullish on the company. SVB Leerink analysts said in a research note that Agilent is undervalued compared with its peers. The analysts maintained their "outperform" rating on the company's stock but lowered their price target to $80 from $86.

"We view Agilent positively and believe that the company holds the leading position in environmental, chemical, and food testing markets around the world while maintaining a well-diversified position across healthcare in biopharma, life science tools and diagnostics," the SVB analysts said in the note.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2019 11:46 ET (15:46 GMT)

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