Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of HP Call Options (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 56,561 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 160% compared to the average volume of 21,734 call options.

HP News Roundup

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in HP by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,481,211 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $40,333,000 after buying an additional 101,844 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of HP by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,071 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $33,139,000 after buying an additional 94,494 shares during the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S grew its holdings in shares of HP by 3.8% in the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 5,754,138 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $156,686,000 after acquiring an additional 210,762 shares in the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of HP by 6.1% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,600,015 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $43,568,000 after acquiring an additional 92,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of HP by 34.6% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 400,020 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $10,685,000 after acquiring an additional 102,825 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of HP from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of HP in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of HP from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on HP from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $22.23.

HP Price Performance

Shares of HPQ opened at $18.83 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.39 and a 200-day moving average of $24.42. The company has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.21. HP has a 1 year low of $17.56 and a 1 year high of $33.90.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $14.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. HP had a net margin of 4.46% and a negative return on equity of 367.41%. HP’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. HP has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

HP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. HP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.45%.

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.