Medical-device makers maintain their appeal

Article Excerpt

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $67 (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 317.5 million; Market cap: $21.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.3; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agilent.com) makes specialized testing equipment for medical research laboratories and industrial clients. In its fiscal 2019 second quarter, ended April 30, 2019, Agilent’s revenue rose 2.7%, to $1.24 billion from $1.21 billion a year earlier. The contribution of recent acquisitions helped offset the negative impact of currency rates. The company also earned $228 million in the quarter, up 7.5% from $212 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share increased at a faster rate of 9.2%, to $0.71 from $0.65. Agilent now expects its revenue for all of fiscal 2019 will decline to around $5.1 billion from its earlier prediction of $5.2 billion. That’s due to lower demand for lab instruments in China. In the past few years, food safety concerns spurred strong demand for that equipment, but sales have weakened lately…