Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, May 31, 2019

Article Excerpt

KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC., $75.13, New York symbol KEYS, makes devices for testing electronic equipment. In April 2017, the company acquired California-based Ixia. Keysight paid $1.6 billion for that firm, which makes software to test wireless and computer networks. Thanks to strong demand for Ixia’s products, Keysight’s overall revenue for the fiscal 2019 second quarter, ended April 30, 2019, rose 10.1%, to $1.09 billion from $990 million a year earlier. That beat the consensus forecast of $1.07 billion. If you exclude businesses that the company bought and sold in the past year and exchange rates, revenue improved 11.7%. Earnings in the quarter before unusual items jumped 47.0%, to $1.22 a share (or a total of $233 million) from $0.83 a share (or $158 million). That easily beat the consensus estimate of $0.99. A big part of the higher results is due to strong demand for equipment that manufacturers of cellphones and wireless networks use to test their new 5G (fifth generation) communication networks. These new…