HP (NYSE:HPQ) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded HP from “buy” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with an average price target of $25.77.
• HP reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.83 per share versus the $0.66 consensus estimate and generating $15.68 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year.
• HP shares opened at $31.30, near the upper half of their $17.56–$36.22 52-week range. Institutional investors own 77.53% of the stock, while insiders have recently sold shares.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on HPQ. Barclays lifted their price target on HP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Evercore set a $32.00 price objective on HP in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of HP in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of HP from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.77.

HP Stock Performance

NYSE HPQ opened at $31.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.67. HP has a one year low of $17.56 and a one year high of $36.22.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The computer maker reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. HP had a net margin of 4.14% and a negative return on equity of 947.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.190-3.290 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.690-0.790 EPS. Equities analysts expect that HP will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HP news, insider David McQuarrie sold 21,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.98, for a total transaction of $631,019.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,186,608.40. This trade represents a 34.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 42,096 shares of company stock worth $1,218,890 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HP in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,357,757,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of HP by 1.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,843,678 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $1,174,855,000 after purchasing an additional 757,961 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in HP by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,313,924 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $607,373,000 after purchasing an additional 274,033 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in HP in the 2nd quarter valued at $545,984,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in HP by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,427,979 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $210,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,256 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HP Company Profile

HP Inc is a global technology company that develops and sells personal computing and printing products and related services. Its Personal Systems business offers laptops, desktop computers, workstations, gaming PCs, monitors, peripherals and accessories for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations.

Through its Printing business, HP provides home and office printers, commercial printing systems, supplies such as ink and toner, and managed print services. The company also offers software and solutions designed to support device management, security, productivity and digital workflows.

HP serves customers in markets around the world through direct sales, online channels, retailers, distributors and business partners.

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