Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) Short Interest Down 19.9% in March

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) saw a significant decline in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 3,632 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $562,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 115,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,834,765. This trade represents a 3.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,873,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,352,932,000 after acquiring an additional 55,223 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,114,952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,588,546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621,349 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,857,378 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,248,773,000 after buying an additional 194,294 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 364.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,652,311 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $747,301,000 after buying an additional 3,650,953 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Keysight Technologies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,417,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $708,349,000 after buying an additional 17,213 shares during the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:KEYS traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.93. The stock had a trading volume of 635,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,371. Keysight Technologies has a twelve month low of $119.72 and a twelve month high of $186.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.84, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.