Sandler Capital Management Increases Holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. $KEYS

Key Points

• Sandler Capital Management increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. by 349.5% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 26,892 shares, bringing its total to 34,587 shares valued at approximately $5.18 million.
• Insider activity included significant stock sales, with SVP Ingrid A. Estrada selling 10,000 shares and CFO Neil Dougherty selling 12,215 shares, both representing notable decreases in their ownership positions.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Keysight Technologies, with JPMorgan Chase increasing its target from $177 to $200 and Barclays adjusting theirs from $200 to $195, reflecting a positive outlook for the stock.

Sandler Capital Management increased its stake in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 349.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,587 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 26,892 shares during the quarter. Keysight Technologies makes up 1.3% of Sandler Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Sandler Capital Management's holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $5,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 97.8% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 182 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 39.9% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEYS has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Keysight Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Keysight Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.38.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

KEYS traded down $1.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.93. 44,193 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 983,328. The company has a market cap of $28.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $164.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.85. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.43 and a 12-month high of $186.20.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,966,528.80. This trade represents a 9.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.97, for a total value of $1,589,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 108,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,262,552.30. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.