Nine years later, we still like both

Article Excerpt

In November 2014, Agilent spun off its electronic testing equipment business as Keysight Technologies. Agilent shareholders received one Keysight share for every two shares they held. While both stocks have dropped lately, they remain terrific examples of why spinoffs are the closest thing you can find to a sure thing. Agilent is up 225% since the split, while Keysight has jumped 400%. Those gains are even more impressive compared to the much more modest 130% increase for the S&P 500 Index over that period. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $134 is a buy. The company (New York symbol A; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 292.1 million; Market cap: $39.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.7%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.agilent.com) makes specialized testing equipment for medical research laboratories and industrial clients. In April 2021, Agilent paid $561 million for Resolution Bioscience Inc., which makes equipment to detect cancer in blood samples. However, demand for that firm’s next-generation products failed to materialize. As a result, the company decided to shut it down and…