Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $489.37 and last traded at $486.3710, with a volume of 1406139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $485.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank cut 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. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.20.

Linde Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $442.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $447.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $228.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership raised its stake in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Company Profile

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.