The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for HP (NYSE:HPQ) Stock Price

HP (NYSE:HPQ) had its price target cut by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $21.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the computer maker’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 15.03% from the company’s previous close.

HPQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research cut shares of HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of HP from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on HP from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of HP in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore set a $22.00 price target on HP in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HP currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $22.23.

HP Price Performance

Shares of HPQ opened at $18.83 on Wednesday. HP has a 12 month low of $17.56 and a 12 month high of $33.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.42. The stock has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Insider Transactions at HP

In other HP news, insider Ketan M. Patel sold 33,321 shares of HP stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total value of $772,713.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $801,724.68. The trade was a 49.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.83, for a total transaction of $415,306.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169 shares in the company, valued at $4,196.27. This trade represents a 99.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,969 shares of company stock worth $2,277,993. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in HP during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of HP by 2,346.5% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HP by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting HP

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

About HP

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.