Wells Fargo & Company Lowers HP (NYSE:HPQ) Price Target to $18.00

HP (NYSE:HPQ) had its target price lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $25.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the computer maker’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 4.41% from the company’s current price.

HPQ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Argus upgraded shares of HP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of HP in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Evercore set a $22.00 price target on HP in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HP in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HP presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $22.23.

HP Price Performance

HPQ stock opened at $18.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.42.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anneliese Olson sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,196.27. This trade represents a 99.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Enrique Lores sold 41,922 shares of HP stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,277,993. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HP in the third quarter worth $28,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of HP by 2,346.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in HP in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in HP in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in HP during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

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

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.