Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Stock Falls 12% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• HPE shares fell 12% to about $44.10 in heavy trading, amid a broader selloff in AI hardware stocks. Investor concerns cited include data-center demand and AI server margins, rather than a new company-specific setback.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a $65.44 average price target, while investors await HPE’s November 23 earnings call.
• HPE’s latest reported quarter beat estimates, with EPS of $1.11 versus $0.93 expected and revenue up 33.7% year over year; the company also provided fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.75–$3.85.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) shares traded down 12% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $43.38 and last traded at $44.1030. Approximately 27,945,276 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 33% from the average daily volume of 20,992,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.09.

Key Stories Impacting Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted HPE as a potential long-term growth stock and included it among stocks with a high earnings yield and a Buy rating, supporting the investment case for investors focused on growth or value. Article: Why Hewlett Packard Enterprise is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term Article: 5 Value Stocks to Buy as AI Volatility Reshapes the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to HPE’s November 23 earnings call. The report could provide a near-term catalyst, but the articles do not provide new forecasts or results. Article: Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock faces November 23 earnings test
• Neutral Sentiment: HPE’s CEO said he has no exposure to AI’s financing web. That may help distinguish the company from concerns about leveraged AI infrastructure financing, though the article provides no further details on potential business impact. Article: HPE’s CEO says he has zero exposure to AI’s financing web
• Negative Sentiment: HPE shares were caught in a broad, second-day selloff in AI hardware stocks after the U.S. midterm elections; the report said HPE and Super Micro fell about 10%. The prior session also saw HPE decline as investors weighed data-center concerns and questions about AI server-sector margins. This points to sector-wide sentiment rather than a specific new HPE setback. Article: Post-midterm sell-off hits AI hardware Article: Margin worries and data-center backlash weigh on AI server stocks

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HPE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.44.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.15. The company has a market capitalization of $58.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $12.21 billion during 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%. The business'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. On average, analysts anticipate that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.1425 per share. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend payout ratio is 29.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Rami Rahim sold 34,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.42, for a total value of $2,116,287.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 875,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,750,668.86. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Antonio Neri sold 250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.44, for a total transaction of $15,110,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,432,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,573,832.92. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 585,899 shares of company stock valued at $37,270,329 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HPE. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 1st quarter valued at $18,691,000. Gunderson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the third quarter valued at $15,409,000. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the third quarter worth $19,340,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the third quarter worth $1,661,000. Finally, Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 36.7% during the third quarter. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 110,121 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,036,000 after buying an additional 29,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.78% of the company's stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

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

HPE's portfolio includes enterprise servers and compute systems, data storage, networking products, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

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