Keysight Technologies Inc. $KEYS Stock Position Boosted by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management nearly doubled its stake in Keysight Technologies in the fourth quarter, boosting its holdings by 94.8% to 23,687 shares worth about $4.8 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with SVP Jo Ann Juskie and Director Ronald S. Nersesian selling shares recently; insiders sold 38,334 shares total over the last three months.
• Keysight beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $2.87 EPS versus $2.32 expected, while revenue rose 31.5% year over year and analysts maintained a Moderate Buy outlook with higher price targets.

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 94.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,687 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 11,530 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KEYS. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $601,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Keysight Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $9,739,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,948 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 361.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In related news, SVP Jo Ann Juskie sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.42, for a total transaction of $304,420.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,821,079.84. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald S. Nersesian sold 30,000 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.96, for a total transaction of $8,578,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 163,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,719,286.92. This trade represents a 15.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,334 shares of company stock worth $11,057,870. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $320.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Keysight Technologies in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $371.92.

Keysight Technologies Stock Up 2.5%

KEYS stock opened at $355.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $324.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.49. The company has a market cap of $60.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.45, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.26. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.85 and a 12-month high of $370.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 21.58%. Keysight Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 31.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Keysight Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.430-2.490 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Keysight Technologies Profile

Keysight Technologies is a global provider of electronic design, test, measurement and optimization solutions for communications, electronics and related industries. The company was formed as a corporate spin-off from Agilent Technologies in 2014; its origins trace back to the electronic measurement business that was part of Hewlett‑Packard before Agilent. Keysight develops hardware and software used throughout the product development lifecycle, from design and simulation to prototype validation and manufacturing test.

Keysight's product portfolio includes electronic test and measurement instruments such as oscilloscopes, network and spectrum analyzers, signal generators, vector network analyzers and modular PXI-based systems, together with software platforms for simulation, automated test and data analysis.

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