KEYS
The clock is ticking
Keysight Technologies is set to report second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday, May 19, and the market is already doing that classic investor thing: peeking at the answer key before the exam.
Analysts are looking for $2.32 a share on $1.71 billion in revenue, up from $1.70 a share and $1.31 billion a year ago. That’s a pretty chunky step up, which means this isn’t just a "did they show up?" quarter — it’s a "did the growth story stay intact?" quarter.
Wall Street’s been warming up
The more interesting subplot is that analysts have been nudging expectations higher ahead of the print:
- Baird lifted its target to $375 and stayed Outperform
- Morgan Stanley raised its target to $305 but kept Equal-Weight
- JPMorgan bumped its target to $360 and stayed Overweight
- Goldman Sachs moved its target to $384 and kept Buy
- Truist started coverage with Hold and a $310 target
Translation: the street isn’t exactly reaching for the panic button. It’s more like everyone’s leaning in, waiting to see if Keysight can deliver the kind of quarter that makes those price-target hikes look smart instead of optimistic.
One more thing on the tape
There’s also a fresh collaboration with SRC UK announced on May 14 to push electronic-warfare modernization with advanced test and simulation. Nice for the long-term story, but the near-term fireworks are still all about the earnings release.
Big picture: if Keysight beats and sounds confident, it could help justify the recent analyst enthusiasm. If it stumbles, those shiny targets start looking a lot less shiny.