Vertical Research Begins Coverage on Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS)

Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $175.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on KEYS. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $141.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $208.00 to $195.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $155.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Keysight Technologies currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $167.20.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEYS opened at $135.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.49. Keysight Technologies has a one year low of $118.57 and a one year high of $170.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 23.79%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Keysight Technologies will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Keysight Technologies news, VP Lisa M. Poole sold 440 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total value of $60,038.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,928.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Lisa M. Poole sold 440 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total transaction of $60,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,913 shares in the company, valued at $533,928.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin A. Stephens acquired 460 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $143.35 per share, with a total value of $65,941.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,071.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Keysight Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Keysight Technologies by 3.8% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,128,892 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $564,626,000 after purchasing an additional 151,446 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Keysight Technologies by 53.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,811,605 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $596,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323,775 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Keysight Technologies by 352.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,462,543 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Keysight Technologies by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,383,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $379,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,694 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Keysight Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $303,444,000. 84.58% of the stock is currently 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.