Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE)

Key Points

• Unusual put activity: Traders bought 46,389 put options on HPE on Friday — a 116% increase vs. the average — signaling elevated bearish positioning in the options market.
• Recent results and guidance: HPE beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.65 vs. $0.59) with revenue up 18.4% YoY to $9.30B and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.30–$2.50 (Q2 guide $0.51–$0.55); the stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $26.71 target.
• Significant insider selling: Insiders have sold 602,337 shares valued at about $15.4M over the past 90 days, leaving corporate insiders with roughly 0.44% ownership.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 46,389 put options on the company. This is an increase of 116% compared to the average volume of 21,432 put options.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HPE traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.16. 4,589,747 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,738,752. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.36 billion, a PE ratio of -148.16, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52 week low of $15.71 and a 52 week high of $29.63.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a positive return on equity of 9.93% and a negative net margin of 0.41%.The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.1425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is -300.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on HPE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Truist Financial began coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, EVP Neil B. Macdonald sold 112,652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $2,826,438.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,417,434.46. This represents a 66.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fidelma Russo sold 34,001 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.08, for a total value of $852,745.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,385.08. This represents a 66.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 602,337 shares of company stock valued at $15,443,119 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Research Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $527,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 42,532 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 6,694 shares of the technology company's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 80,769 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,940,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,565 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 451 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 (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.

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