Bayforest Capital Ltd Acquires 2,530 Shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Keysight Technologies by 340.1% in the 1st quarter, owning 3,274 shares valued at approximately $490,000.
• Keysight Technologies reported $1.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a 7.4% year-over-year revenue growth with total revenues of $1.32 billion.
• Analysts are bullish on Keysight Technologies, with recent price target upgrades suggesting a potential rise to around $187.50. JPMorgan Chase raised its target from $177.00 to $200.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating.

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 340.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $490,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KEYS. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 364.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,652,311 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $747,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650,953 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Keysight Technologies by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,114,952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,588,546,000 after buying an additional 3,621,349 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Keysight Technologies by 1,224.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,991,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $298,324,000 after buying an additional 1,841,494 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Keysight Technologies by 343.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,008,192 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $161,946,000 after buying an additional 780,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Keysight Technologies by 36,268.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 750,647 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $112,424,000 after buying an additional 748,583 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

Shares of KEYS stock traded up $2.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $161.17. 331,854 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 975,942. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.72 and a fifty-two week high of $186.20. The stock's fifty day moving average is $162.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.89. The company has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 2.75.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Keysight Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Keysight Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.50.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In related news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.60, for a total transaction of $2,010,589.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,966,528.80. The trade was a 9.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John Page sold 7,368 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $1,162,523.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,835,651.08. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,830 shares of company stock valued at $5,124,049 in the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Keysight Technologies Company Profile

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.