Hewlett Packard Enterprise Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HPE)

Key Points

• HPE call-option activity surged: Investors purchased 178,801 call options, 221% above the typical daily volume of 55,639.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Twelve analysts rate HPE a Buy and six rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $69.44, though some firms recently lowered targets.
• Strong earnings and AI demand support the outlook: HPE exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, reported 33.7% year-over-year revenue growth, and raised fiscal 2026 guidance. However, supply constraints and potential margin pressure from AI systems remain concerns.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 178,801 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 221% compared to the typical daily volume of 55,639 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HPE. Loop Capital raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $21.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $35.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.44.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

HPE stock traded up $2.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.25. 65,934,496 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,957,623. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52-week low of $19.84 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The stock has a market cap of $71.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.70, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.63 and its 200 day moving average is $37.46.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $12.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.97 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 3.94%.Hewlett Packard Enterprise's revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.1425 per share. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is presently 53.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 18,785 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total value of $911,072.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPE. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,782 shares of the technology company's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 5.2% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 7,180 shares of the technology company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 21,925 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,998 shares of the technology company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 18,951 shares of the technology company's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Here are the key news stories impacting Hewlett Packard Enterprise this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. HPE reported fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share, versus estimates near $0.93–$0.95, while revenue reached $12.21 billion, up 33.7% year over year and above the $11.97 billion consensus. Earnings more than doubled from $0.44 a year earlier. HPE Reports Fiscal 2026 Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI and networking demand remains robust. Management cited record orders and backlog, accelerating enterprise AI adoption, and networking orders that exceed available supply. HPE raised fiscal 2026 EPS guidance to $3.75–$3.85, revenue guidance to $46–$47 billion, and forecast at least $3.75 billion in free cash flow. It also projects fiscal 2027 revenue growth of 13%–17% and at least $5 billion in free cash flow. HPE Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Demand, Networking Shift
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised targets. Raymond James lifted its target to $86 with an outperform rating, while Barclays raised its target to $79 and Citi to $76; Truist also increased its target to $70 and maintained a buy rating.
• Positive Sentiment: HPE expanded its collaboration with Oracle to deploy Juniper Networking equipment and services across Oracle’s AI data centers, potentially supporting future networking revenue. HPE and Oracle Deepen Networking Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: HPE declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1425 per share, payable October 16 to shareholders of record September 17. The company will hold a Networking Investor Day on September 30, which could provide additional detail on strategy and growth prospects.
• Negative Sentiment: Supply constraints are overshadowing the earnings beat. Investors appear concerned that limited component availability could prevent HPE from fully converting its AI and networking backlog into near-term sales, while a greater mix of AI systems may pressure margins. HPE Earnings Soar but Supply Constraints Aren't Going Away
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed: Piper Sandler reaffirmed neutral and cut its target to $57, UBS lowered its target to $59, and Wells Fargo reduced its target to $54 despite retaining equal weight.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is an enterprise technology company that designs, develops and sells IT infrastructure, software and services for business and government customers. Its core offerings span servers, storage, networking, and related software, together with consulting, integration and support services aimed at modernizing and managing enterprise IT environments. HPE's product portfolio includes systems for traditional data centers as well as solutions for high-performance computing, edge computing and telecommunications infrastructure.

A major focus for HPE is hybrid cloud and consumption-based IT.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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