Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for HP (NYSE:HPQ) Stock Price

HP (NYSE:HPQ) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the computer maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 15.03% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on HPQ. Citigroup cut their target price on HP from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on HP from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on HP from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Zacks Research lowered HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of HP from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $22.23.

HP Stock Up 3.4%

HPQ stock opened at $18.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.39 and a 200 day moving average of $24.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.21. HP has a 52 week low of $17.56 and a 52 week high of $33.90.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The computer maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. HP had a net margin of 4.46% and a negative return on equity of 367.41%. The company had revenue of $14.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. HP’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. HP has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.760 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that HP will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at HP

In other HP news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 41,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total value of $1,089,972.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,677,856. This represents a 22.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 16,726 shares of HP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.83, for a total transaction of $415,306.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,196.27. This trade represents a 99.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,277,993. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HPQ. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in HP by 2,346.5% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HP in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of HP by 97.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

HP News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting HP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — HP reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS (non‑GAAP EPS $0.81 vs. $0.77 est.), driven by Personal Systems strength, which underpins near‑term earnings momentum. HP Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Broad market sentiment boosted demand — S&P 500 futures and general risk‑on tone helped lift HP alongside peers, supporting the intraday rebound from post‑earnings weakness. HP Moves Higher with S&P 500 Futures Market Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call‑option activity signals speculative / institutional bullish positioning — heavy call buying suggests some traders are betting on a rebound or greater volatility to the upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary frames current weakness as a short‑term opportunity — several analysts and market commentators say the market is over‑reacting to near‑term headwinds, highlighting potential longer‑term value if cost pressures ease. Seeking Alpha: Short‑Term Focus Presents Opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned memory‑chip cost pressures will persist and signaled softer PC demand ahead — the CFO’s caution knocked momentum off the earnings beat and prompted investor concern about margin compression. HP Warns Memory Crunch Will Linger
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut targets and downgraded the stock — multiple firms trimmed price targets (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Barclays) and moved to underweight/sell, increasing selling pressure and lowering near‑term upside expectations. Wells Fargo Cuts Target Barclays Lowers Target
• Negative Sentiment: Margin squeeze from surging memory costs is a near‑term earnings risk — coverage pieces and analysts highlight that higher memory costs materially pressure gross margins even as revenue grows. Benzinga: Margin Squeeze Deepens

HP Company Profile

HP Inc is an American multinational information technology company that designs, manufactures and sells personal computing devices, printers and related supplies and services. Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial notebooks and desktops, workstations, displays and accessories, as well as an extensive line of printing hardware that includes home, office and production printers. HP also provides consumables such as ink and toner, managed print services, device deployment and lifecycle support, and software for device and print management.

Founded from the original Hewlett‑Packard Company, HP Inc became a separately traded public company in 2015 following a corporate split that created Hewlett Packard Enterprise to focus on enterprise hardware and services.