Short Interest in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) Declines By 12.3%

Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,317,208 shares, a decline of 12.3% from the February 12th total of 2,642,495 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,587,034 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,587,034 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KEYS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Keysight Technologies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $230.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Keysight Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.36.

Keysight Technologies Stock Up 0.2%

KEYS traded up $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $287.86. 135,837 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,443,038. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.02. Keysight Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $121.43 and a fifty-two week high of $317.00. The stock has a market cap of $49.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.12.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 16.84%.The business’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Keysight Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.590- EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.270-2.330 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Keysight Technologies will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Keysight Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, November 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the scientific and technical instruments company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Keysight Technologies news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 1,000 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.72, for a total transaction of $203,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 127,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,042,138.76. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.68, for a total transaction of $475,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 107,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,636,402.48. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,889 shares of company stock worth $1,167,221 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Keysight Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 27,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,965,000 after acquiring an additional 13,085 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,652 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Keysight Technologies by 66.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 393 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Keysight Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $254,000. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by 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.