Dark Forest Capital Management LP Acquires 21,400 Shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. $KEYS

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP significantly increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 422.3%, acquiring an additional 21,400 shares, bringing their total to 26,468 shares worth approximately $3.96 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Keysight Technologies, with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase setting targets at $180.00 and $200.00 respectively, resulting in an average target price of $187.38.
• Keysight Technologies reported strong quarterly earnings of $1.72 EPS, exceeding expectations, along with a 11.1% year-over-year revenue increase of $1.35 billion.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 422.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,468 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 21,400 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $3,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Keysight Technologies by 97.8% in the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 182 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Keysight Technologies by 85.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 235 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Keysight Technologies by 39.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Keysight Technologies

In other news, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.97, for a total transaction of $1,589,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 108,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,262,552.30. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.60, for a total transaction of $2,010,589.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 115,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,966,528.80. This represents a 9.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Keysight Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.38.

Keysight Technologies Stock Up 0.7%

Keysight Technologies stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 957,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,040,006. The company has a market capitalization of $28.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.43 and a 12 month high of $186.20. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $163.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 3.59.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Keysight Technologies has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.790-1.85 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.090-7.090 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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.