Keysight Technologies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KEYS)

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 2,246 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 150% compared to the typical daily volume of 897 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin A. Stephens purchased 460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $143.35 per share, for a total transaction of $65,941.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,681 shares in the company, valued at $1,101,071.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Lisa M. Poole sold 440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total transaction of $60,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,928.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin A. Stephens purchased 460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $143.35 per share, with a total value of $65,941.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,071.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Keysight Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Keysight Technologies in the second quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Keysight Technologies during the first quarter worth $31,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Keysight Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 262.9% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 254 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KEYS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $141.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Keysight Technologies from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of Keysight Technologies in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.30.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of KEYS opened at $157.85 on Thursday. Keysight Technologies has a 52 week low of $118.57 and a 52 week high of $162.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $27.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $135.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.43.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.22. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 15.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Keysight Technologies will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.