Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Stock Price Down 8.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• HPE shares fell 8.1% to about $63.22 after Barclays downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight and cut its price target from $83 to $77.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.44, while other firms have cited valuation concerns and limited room for further gains.
• HPE recently reported strong results, including 33.7% year-over-year revenue growth and an earnings beat, supported by demand for AI infrastructure, cloud and networking; however, insiders have sold more than 551,000 shares worth approximately $35.3 million over the past three months.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) were down 8.1% during trading on Wednesday 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 $62.62 and last traded at $63.2170. 24,897,691 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 17% from the average session volume of 21,291,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.81.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on HPE. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $57.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa upgraded HPE to Outperform, providing a counterpoint to the recent downgrade activity. Daiwa upgrades Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock to Outperform
• Positive Sentiment: HPE’s Juniper acquisition is showing signs of strengthening the networking business, while the company continues to benefit from demand tied to AI infrastructure, cloud and networking. Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Fears Mount For Bears As Juniper Acquisition Shows Strength
• Positive Sentiment: HPE remains near its 52-week high after strong momentum, improved sales growth and raised fiscal 2026 and 2027 outlooks. The company also announced a $1.2 billion AI order from cloud provider Vultr and increased its long-term networking growth forecast. What Changed For HPE Stock, And What Did Not?
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts continue to identify HPE as a stock with additional upside after its strong run, although this reflects momentum rather than a new company-specific announcement. 4 Stocks Trading Near 52-Week High With Room to Rise Further
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded HPE from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered its price target from $83 to $77, citing elevated valuations and a lack of meaningful AI-driven growth. The downgrade also affected Dell and NetApp, pressuring the broader IT hardware group. Why are Dell and HPE stocks plunging today?
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore previously cut HPE to In Line with a $65 target, arguing that the rally had made the shares expensive and left limited room for further valuation expansion. How Evercore’s Valuation-Driven Downgrade At Hewlett Packard Enterprise Has Changed Its Investment Story

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter worth about $1,027,139,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the second quarter worth about $773,225,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the second quarter worth about $512,721,000. Elliott Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 47.2% in the first quarter. Elliott Investment Management L.P. now owns 27,421,735 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $652,912,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the second quarter valued at about $322,718,000. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Down 8.1%

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $58.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.92 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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