HP (NYSE:HPQ) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) fell 4.7% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $30.56 and last traded at $30.9260. Approximately 1,933,140 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 17,868,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HPQ shares. Evercore set a $32.00 target price on shares of HP in a report on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of HP in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of HP in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HP in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.77.

HP Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.54.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The computer maker reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.17. HP had a negative return on equity of 947.78% and a net margin of 4.14%.The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.190-3.290 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.690-0.790 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that HP Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David McQuarrie sold 31,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.12, for a total transaction of $1,014,092.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,216.96. This trade represents a 79.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 73,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,232,982 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HPQ. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in HP during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in HP in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new position in HP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of HP by 149.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

About HP

HP Inc (NYSE: HPQ) is a global technology company that develops and sells personal computing and printing products, services, and solutions. Its portfolio includes laptops, desktop computers, workstations, monitors, accessories, and other peripherals for consumers and businesses.

The company’s printing business provides printers, multifunction devices, digital presses, supplies such as ink and toner, and related services and solutions. HP also offers managed print services, device and lifecycle management, and other technology services designed to support workplace productivity and hybrid work environments.

HP traces its origins to Hewlett-Packard, founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard.