Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $162.80, but opened at $171.60. Keysight Technologies shares last traded at $172.22, with a volume of 311,203 shares.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 12.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KEYS shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Keysight Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Keysight Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Keysight Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $200.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 3,632 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $562,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 115,063 shares in the company, valued at $17,834,765. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,694 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,417,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $708,349,000 after buying an additional 17,213 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 55,379 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $8,896,000 after buying an additional 1,755 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,567 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,018,000 after buying an additional 3,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 15,554 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $147.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.63.

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.

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