Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,050,000 shares, a decline of 19.9% from the February 28th total of 2,560,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Keysight Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Keysight Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Keysight Technologies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 3,632 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $562,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 115,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,834,765. The trade was a 3.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Keysight Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KEYS. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Keysight Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 21,753 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 9,437 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 241.8% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.58% of the company’s stock.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

Keysight Technologies stock traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $151.76. 819,079 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,150,715. The company has a market capitalization of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.12. Keysight Technologies has a 1-year low of $119.72 and a 1-year high of $186.20. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $164.91 and a 200 day moving average of $162.41.

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.