Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on KEYS. Barclays upgraded Keysight Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $158.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $167.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.89.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

KEYS stock traded down $4.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $149.37. 1,226,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,174,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.98. Keysight Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $119.72 and a fifty-two week high of $166.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $155.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.92.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. Research analysts predict that Keysight Technologies will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Keysight Technologies

In other Keysight Technologies news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $254,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,160 shares in the company, valued at $6,576,960. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Keysight Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KEYS. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $621,993,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 352.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,160,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $494,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,462,543 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $250,097,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies during the first quarter worth $175,979,000. Finally, Saturna Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 72.0% in the first quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 860,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $134,487,000 after purchasing an additional 360,000 shares during the period. 84.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Keysight Technologies

Keysight Technologies, Inc provides electronic design and test solutions to commercial communications, networking, aerospace, defense and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor, electronic, and education industries in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Communications Solutions Group and Electronic Industrial Solutions Group.