HP (NYSE:HPQ) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $30.52, but opened at $27.86. HP shares last traded at $28.4970, with a volume of 10,904,864 shares changing hands.

Trending Headlines about HP

Here are the key news stories impacting HP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HP reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $15.68 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above expectations, while adjusted earnings of $0.83 per share exceeded consensus estimates. Personal Systems revenue increased 18%, helping offset weaker PC unit shipments. HPQ’s Q3 Earnings Surpass Expectations, Revenues Rise Year Over Year
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its fiscal 2026 EPS and free-cash-flow outlook, citing pricing, a richer premium-PC mix and growing demand for AI-enabled PCs. The outlook supports expectations for potential margin recovery into fiscal 2027. HPQ Q3 Earnings Call Puts Focus on Margin Recovery and AI PCs
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street analysts boosted their price forecasts after the earnings beat, improving near-term sentiment. HP’s cash generation, dividend and planned share repurchases also remain supportive for investors. HP Analysts Boost Their Forecasts
• Neutral Sentiment: HP is pursuing a global Wi-Fi patent agreement, which could help clarify licensing rights and support its connected-device strategy, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Why Is HP Signing a Global Wi-Fi Patent Deal Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that rising memory costs, continued PC shipment declines and ongoing margin contraction could limit the durability of HP’s earnings growth. Profit and operating leverage weakened even as revenue rose, creating skepticism after a substantial recent rally. HP Stock Slides as Memory Costs Pressure PC Margins

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HPQ. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on HP from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on HP from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on HP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of HP in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on HP from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.17.

HP Trading Up 3.1%

The company has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.76.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The computer maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.44 billion. HP had a net margin of 4.14% and a negative return on equity of 947.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that HP Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. HP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Insider Activity at HP

In other news, insider David P. Mcquarrie sold 21,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.98, for a total value of $631,019.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,186,608.40. The trade was a 34.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,620 shares of company stock valued at $1,478,622. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPQ. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of HP in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in HP during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in HP during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in HP in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in HP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

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.