Jefferies maintains a Buy rating on Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS), and lowered the price target to $41.00 (from $44.00), following 2Q15 results. KEYS reported EPS beat consensus by $0.05 at $0.70. Analyst Brandon Couillard said that the initial 3Q15 outlook fell below expectations.

Couillard commented on KEYS 3Q outlook, saying, "KEYS' 3Q outlook calls for a 10% core revenue decline ($655M mid-pt / -13% vs. consensus) on softer OUS A&D & a slowdown in Comm. manuf demand. While the absolute level is reminiscent of a trough (lowest since 1Q10) and reflective of backlog burn (down ~$100M over TTM) & fewer upgrade cycle tailwinds (tough China base station comps), KEYS remains in the early innings of its transition toward higher growth verticals & we note that more resilient R&D markets are now >50% of its overall mix, which should reduce future volatility."

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Shares of Keysight Technologies closed at $34.99 yesterday.