Zacks Research Downgrades Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, indicating a cautious outlook for the stock.
• Other brokerages, including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, have recently boosted their price targets and ratings for HPE, with the stock currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.81.
• Insider activity has been notable, with significant stock sales reported by company executives, including a sale of 40,000 shares by Director Gary M. Reiner, reflecting potential concerns about the company’s future performance.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on HPE. Morgan Stanley upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.81.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of HPE stock opened at $24.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.43. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a twelve month low of $11.97 and a twelve month high of $25.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $22.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maeve C. Culloty sold 3,738 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total value of $93,898.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total value of $983,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,869 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,500.02. This represents a 32.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 543,738 shares of company stock valued at $12,922,932 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,663,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 1st quarter worth approximately $301,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 153,320 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 28,123 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 1st quarter worth approximately $164,000. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.