Headquartered in Moline, Illinois, Deere & Company (DE), commonly known by its brand name John Deere, is a leading American manufacturer of agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery. With a market cap of $137.4 billion, the company also provides product and parts financing services. 

Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and DE perfectly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the farm & heavy construction machinery industry. Deere & Company emphasizes innovation through intelligent, connected machines and applications that enhance productivity in agriculture and construction industries. Deere also invests in sustainability initiatives, such as supporting smallholder farmers and community development programs. 

DE has plunged 4.9% from its 52-week high of $533.78, achieved on May 16. Over the past three months, DE stock has gained 5.6%, outperforming the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLI) 4.6% rise during the same time frame.

In the longer term, shares of DE rose 19.9% on a YTD basis and climbed 35.5% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing XLI’s YTD gains of 8.3% and 15.5% returns over the last year.

To confirm the bullish trend, DE has been trading above its 50-day moving average since early May and over its 200-day moving average since August 2024, despite some fluctuations. 

On May 23, Deere & Company shares dropped 1.1% following the announcement of its acquisition of Sentera, a remote imagery solutions provider for agriculture. This deal aims to enhance John Deere’s technology portfolio, providing farmers and agricultural service providers with better tools to collect and utilize data, thereby boosting farm profitability, efficiency, and sustainability.

In the industrial sector, top rival Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) has lagged behind DE, with a 5% loss on a YTD basis and a 1.8% uptick over the past 52 weeks.

As a result, Wall Street analysts are fairly bullish on DE’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 20 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $534 suggests a potential upside of 5.2% from current price levels.