Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Shares Down 7% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• HPE shares fell 7% after Barclays downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight and cut its price target from $83 to $77. Trading volume rose 63% above the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive: HPE has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $65.44 price target, although recent downgrades reflect concerns about its valuation and the pace of AI-driven growth.
• HPE reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 33.7% year over year and EPS of $1.11 versus the $0.93 estimate. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1425 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% annualized yield.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) was down 7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating. Barclays now has a $77.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $83.00. Hewlett Packard Enterprise traded as low as $56.64 and last traded at $58.7110. 34,750,669 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 63% from the average session volume of 21,356,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.11.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $74.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $76.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.44.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.91, for a total transaction of $967,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,703,247.52. This represents a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rami Rahim sold 34,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.42, for a total transaction of $2,116,287.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 875,133 shares in the company, valued at $53,750,668.86. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 551,456 shares of company stock worth $35,271,258. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Hewlett Packard Enterprise News

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

• Positive Sentiment: HPE plans to invest $75 million to expand its Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, operations and add approximately 75 jobs. The expansion supports the company’s data-center and technology infrastructure business, although its direct effect on near-term earnings is likely limited. Hewlett Packard Enterprise to spend $75M to expand, add 75 jobs in Chippewa Falls
• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa upgraded HPE to Outperform, providing a counterpoint to the more cautious analyst actions and signaling that some investors still see upside in the company’s growth and infrastructure strategy. Daiwa upgrades Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock to Outperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights HPE’s strong fundamentals, including record quarterly revenue, orders and backlog, with demand spanning traditional servers, AI systems and networking. The company also previously announced a $1.2 billion AI order from Vultr, but investors are now focused on whether that demand will accelerate enough to justify the stock’s elevated valuation. What Changed For HPE Stock, And What Did Not?
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded HPE from Overweight to Equal Weight and reduced its price target from $83 to $77. The firm cited elevated valuation and a lack of a meaningful AI growth inflection, raising concerns that enterprise IT spending may not meet optimistic expectations. Dell, HPE and NetApp Stocks Slump After Downgrades on Worries About AI Spending
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore also moved HPE to In Line with a $65 price target, adding to the broader analyst caution after the stock’s sharp run-up. Evercore cuts Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock to In Line

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 159.5% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 208.6% during the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 466 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 7.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $77.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.02.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $12.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.97 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 6.60%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's revenue was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. 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, research analysts expect that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be issued a $0.1425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $0.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is currently 29.69%.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company NYSE: HPE is a global technology company that provides information technology products, services and solutions for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its offerings are designed to help customers build, manage and secure data center, cloud and edge-computing environments.

HPE's portfolio includes enterprise servers, high-performance computing systems, data storage, networking equipment, software and technology consulting services. The company also provides hybrid cloud and as-a-service solutions through HPE GreenLake, allowing customers to access and manage computing, storage, data protection and other IT capabilities through a flexible consumption model.

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