Stock Price & Analysis

Based on the provided data and recent market activity, here's a concise analysis for LIN stock:

Technical Analysis

The stock is currently trading at $436, showing moderate bullish momentum with RSI at 58.02 , indicating a balanced but slightly bullish sentiment. The stock has maintained above its 20-day moving average of $421.64, suggesting a positive short-term trend.

Recent Developments TD Cowen analyst Marc Bianchi recently upgraded Linde to Strong Buy from Hold with a price target increase to $515 from $480, citing the company's high-quality business and strong management . The recent pullback has created a buying opportunity according to the analyst.

Growth Prospects Linde is expected to report Q4 2024 earnings on February 6, 2025, with analysts projecting EPS of $3.94, representing a 9.8% increase year-over-year. For fiscal 2025, analysts expect EPS to grow 9.8% to $17.00, showing consistent growth momentum.

Valuation & Analyst Consensus

The stock currently has strong analyst support with recent price targets:

• TD Cowen: $515 (22.2% upside)
• Citigroup: $480 (13.67% upside)
• Mizuho: $530 (15.64% upside)

Recommendation Given the strong analyst upgrades, consistent earnings growth expectations, and technical support above the 20-day moving average, LIN presents a buying opportunity at current levels. The stock's recent consolidation provides a favorable entry point with multiple analysts seeing significant upside potential.

Based on the provided data and technical analysis, here is the price prediction for LIN stock in 2025:

Linde stock (LIN) is expected to reach $508 by end of 2025, representing a 21% upside potential from current levels, driven by consistent earnings growth and strong industrial gas demand. The company's Q4 2024 earnings report due February 6, 2025 is projected to show $3.94 EPS, up 9.8% year-over-year, indicating robust financial performance.

The technical indicators show RSI at 58.02 and MACD at -2.88, suggesting the stock is in neutral territory with slight bearish momentum in the very short term. However, the stock is trading above its 20-day moving average of $421.64, indicating an overall positive trend.

The prediction is supported by Linde's position as the world's largest industrial gas company with strong fundamentals and high analyst ratings. Out of 22 analysts covering the stock, 14 give it a "Strong Buy" rating.

The S1 support level for LIN Stock is $416.83 ,The R1 resistant level for LIN Stock is $445.08.

As of the end of day on 2025-01-24, the price of LIN Stock was $439.08.

The target price for LIN Stock according to analyst rating is 507.62, with the highest price target at 540.00 and the lowest at 477.00. Analysts have a Moderate Buy rating on LIN Stock overall.

The market cap of LIN is $209.2B.

Based on the provided financial data and recent analyst ratings, here's a concise analysis of LIN's valuation:

Valuation Analysis LIN currently shows elevated valuation metrics with a P/E ratio of 36.19x in Q3 2024, which is relatively high compared to historical levels. The EV/EBITDA of 19.8x and P/S ratio of 7.0x also indicate premium valuation levels.

Financial Performance Revenue has shown steady sequential growth from $8.1B in Q1 to $8.36B in Q3 2024. However, net income declined slightly from $1.66B in Q2 to $1.55B in Q3 2024, with net margin contracting from 20.56% to 19.18%.

Recent Analyst Actions TD Cowen recently upgraded LIN to Strong Buy with a $515 price target on January 13, 2025, citing high business quality and potential outperformance despite macro concerns. However, Citigroup maintained a Hold rating with a $480 target in December 2024, expressing concerns about commodity chemicals outlook.

Conclusion Based on the elevated valuation metrics, declining margins, and mixed analyst sentiment, LIN appears to be overvalued at current levels. While the company maintains strong operational performance, the premium valuation multiples suggest limited upside potential in the near term.

Linde plc is a United Kingdom-based industrial gases and engineering company. The Company serves a variety of end markets, such as chemicals and energy, food and beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals, and mining. The Company’s industrial gases and technologies are used in countless applications, including production of clean hydrogen and carbon capture systems critical to the energy transition, life-saving medical oxygen and high-purity and specialty gases for electronics. It also delivers gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions. Its primary products in its industrial gases business are atmospheric gases and process gases. The Company also designs and builds equipment that produces industrial gases and offers customers a range of gas production and processing services, such as olefin plants, natural gas plants, air separation plants, hydrogen and synthesis gas plants and other types of plants.

Based on the available data and market analysis, here's the price prediction for Linde (LIN) stock by 2030:

Linde stock is projected to reach $750-800 by 2030, driven by its dominant position in industrial gases and strong growth in clean energy transition projects. The company's consistent earnings growth of ~9% annually, combined with its $10 billion project backlog and leadership in hydrogen/carbon capture technologies, supports this bullish outlook.

The industrial gas giant's operating margins have expanded to 29.6% with return on capital reaching 25.8%, demonstrating operational excellence that should sustain long-term value creation through 2030.

LIN has a total of 66323 employees.