JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) to Overweight

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $525.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $455.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.77% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on LIN. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.20.

Linde Stock Up 1.2%

LIN traded up $5.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $496.34. 623,582 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,649,635. Linde has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.00 billion, a PE ratio of 34.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $466.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $450.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Linde will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Linde by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $264,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Finally, PeakShares LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $1,044,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Linde

Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany’s Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde’s business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.