Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) Shares Down 6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Keysight shares fell 6% to roughly $320 despite strong fiscal Q3 results, likely reflecting profit-taking and concerns about the stock’s high valuation near 52 times earnings.
• The company reported $1.85 billion in revenue and $3.07 adjusted EPS, beating estimates, and raised fiscal 2026 guidance to approximately $7.1 billion in revenue and $11.46 EPS.
• AI infrastructure and data-center demand are accelerating, with orders above $2 billion and a strong backlog, though supply constraints could delay revenue conversion. Analysts remain bullish, with several raising price targets and the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.

Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $317.91 and last traded at $320.4660. 927,057 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 1,442,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.00.

Key Stories Impacting Keysight Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Keysight Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keysight reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $1.85 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.07, exceeding consensus estimates of $1.75 billion and $2.48, respectively. Revenue increased 36.5% year over year, supported by growth in commercial communications and data-center-related demand. Keysight Technologies Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its fiscal 2026 outlook to approximately $7.1 billion in revenue and $11.46 in EPS, above Wall Street expectations. Its fourth-quarter forecast of $1.93-$1.95 billion in revenue and $3.34-$3.40 in EPS also topped consensus. Keysight expects Q4 revenue and raises fiscal outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI infrastructure demand is accelerating into fiscal 2027. Orders exceeded $2 billion, while a strong backlog, book-to-bill ratio and operating margin of 33.2% point to continued revenue momentum. Robert W. Baird raised its price target from $385 to $410 and maintained an “outperform” rating. KEYS Q3 earnings call highlights AI demand and supply limits
• Neutral Sentiment: Keysight’s growth outlook is increasingly tied to AI data-center investment, which creates substantial opportunity but also leaves results sensitive to customer spending cycles and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Supply constraints may delay the conversion of Keysight’s order pipeline and backlog into reported revenue. Investors may also be taking profits after the strong run-up, particularly with the stock trading at a high valuation near 53 times earnings. Keysight forecasts quarterly profit above estimates

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KEYS. Barclays upped their target price on Keysight Technologies from $387.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on Keysight Technologies from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Keysight Technologies from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $385.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Keysight Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $389.92.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50 day moving average price is $334.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.94.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 17.25%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Keysight Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.340-3.400 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 11.460-11.460 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 9.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.87, for a total value of $681,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 105,861 shares in the company, valued at $36,084,839.07. This represents a 1.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director James Cullen sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.58, for a total value of $1,039,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,562,722.18. The trade was a 12.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 5,507 shares of company stock valued at $1,904,669 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Keysight Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 15.0% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 113 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,276 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Keysight Technologies Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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