Another spinoff fits the pattern

Article Excerpt

We’ve often pointed out that spinoffs like Agilent tend to perform better than comparable stocks in the first few years. Agilent shot up to $162 after it became an independent company in 1999. However, it dropped below $11 when the tech-stock boom ended in 2002. It rose to $40 in 2007, but fell back to $12 in 2009. Even with its erratic history, Agilent still outperformed larger tech stocks, such as Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems and its former parent, Hewlett-Packard. Agilent’s recent shift into medical-testing products should give it more predictable earnings, and make the stock less volatile. As well, demand for its electronic-testing products is rising with the economy. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $44 (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 345.1 million; Market cap: $15.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agilent.com) makes testing systems that help improve electronic products, such as cellphones and computer-networking equipment. Agilent was a unit of Hewlett-Packard…