Barclays Lowers HP (NYSE:HPQ) Price Target to $16.00

HP (NYSE:HPQ) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the computer maker’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 15.03% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on HP from $25.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on HP from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on HP from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of HP from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of HP in a report on Monday, December 1st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, HP has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $22.23.

HP Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:HPQ opened at $18.83 on Wednesday. HP has a fifty-two week low of $17.56 and a fifty-two week high of $33.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.42. The stock has a market cap 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 (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The computer maker reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. HP had a net margin of 4.46% and a negative return on equity of 367.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. HP has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.760 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 41,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total value of $1,089,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,456 shares in the company, valued at $3,677,856. This represents a 22.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ketan M. Patel sold 33,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $772,713.99. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,572 shares in the company, valued at $801,724.68. The trade was a 49.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,277,993. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in HP in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in HP by 2,346.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position 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 fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories 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.