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

Posted by Max Byerly on Feb 25th, 2026

HP (NYSE:HPQ – Get Free Report) had its target price cut by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the computer maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 12.24% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HPQ. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of HP in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of HP from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of HP from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered HP from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. 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 issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HP presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $22.77.

Read Our Latest Report on HPQ

HP Price Performance

HPQ traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $18.23. 18,504,720 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,231,160. HP has a fifty-two week low of $17.56 and a fifty-two week high of $34.07. The company has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.50.

HP (NYSE:HPQ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The computer maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 4.57% and a negative return on equity of 330.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. HP has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.760 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that HP will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HP news, 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 value of $772,713.99. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $801,724.68. This trade represents a 49.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 16,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.83, for a total transaction of $415,306.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,196.27. This represents a 99.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 91,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,277,993 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HP

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of HP by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,711 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in HP by 45.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 80,896 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $1,979,000 after buying an additional 25,338 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in HP during the second quarter valued at $477,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $834,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in HP by 25.5% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 156,299 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $3,823,000 after acquiring an additional 31,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting HP

Here are the key news stories impacting HP this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — HP reported non?GAAP EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $14.44B, above Wall Street estimates, driven by solid demand. HP Inc. Reports Fiscal 2026 First Quarter Results
Positive Sentiment: Top?line growth led by Personal Systems — Personal Systems revenue rose (double?digit growth noted by analysts), helping overall revenue expand ~7% year?over?year. This demonstrates demand resilience in PCs. HP Inc (HPQ) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
Positive Sentiment: Cash returns and improving free cash flow — Management returned ~$0.6B to shareholders and reported positive free cash flow, which supports buybacks/dividend continuity. HP Inc. Reports Fiscal 2026 First Quarter Results
Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and full call transcript are available for deeper read — useful for assessing management commentary on cost actions and AI/PC opportunities. HP Inc. 2026 Q1 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
Negative Sentiment: Guidance trimmed and FY outlook weakened — HP set Q2 EPS guidance of $0.70–$0.76 (consensus ~$0.75) and said fiscal?year results are likely toward the low end of prior ranges, reducing near?term earnings visibility. HP slides as mixed guidance weighs on strong Q1 results
Negative Sentiment: Memory?cost headwinds and trade/regulatory risk — Rising memory chip prices and potential impacts from U.S. trade regulations are expected to inflate costs and compress margins, prompting analysts to cut EPS/target estimates. HP warns US trade regulations, memory chip costs to weigh on annual forecasts
Negative Sentiment: Analysts lower fair?value/estimates — Several research notes trimmed target ranges (mid?$20s to low?$20s) and flagged that memory pricing and mixed end?demand could challenge HP’s ability to deliver operating leverage. Why The HP (HPQ) Story Is Shifting On Costs Memory Pressures And AI PC Hopes
Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares near 52?week low after CFO caution — Despite the quarter’s beats, the CFO’s warning on costs and lowered guidance erased the upside, pushing the stock toward its one?year low. HP Hits 52-Week Low After CFO’s Warning Wipes Out Earnings Win

HP Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.