Hewlett Packard Enterprise Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HPE)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 178,801 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 221% compared to the typical volume of 55,639 call options.

Trending Headlines about Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Here are the key news stories impacting Hewlett Packard Enterprise this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. HPE reported fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share, versus estimates near $0.93–$0.95, while revenue reached $12.21 billion, up 33.7% year over year and above the $11.97 billion consensus. Earnings more than doubled from $0.44 a year earlier. HPE Reports Fiscal 2026 Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI and networking demand remains robust. Management cited record orders and backlog, accelerating enterprise AI adoption, and networking orders that exceed available supply. HPE raised fiscal 2026 EPS guidance to $3.75–$3.85, revenue guidance to $46–$47 billion, and forecast at least $3.75 billion in free cash flow. It also projects fiscal 2027 revenue growth of 13%–17% and at least $5 billion in free cash flow. HPE Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Demand, Networking Shift
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised targets. Raymond James lifted its target to $86 with an outperform rating, while Barclays raised its target to $79 and Citi to $76; Truist also increased its target to $70 and maintained a buy rating.
• Positive Sentiment: HPE expanded its collaboration with Oracle to deploy Juniper Networking equipment and services across Oracle’s AI data centers, potentially supporting future networking revenue. HPE and Oracle Deepen Networking Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: HPE declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1425 per share, payable October 16 to shareholders of record September 17. The company will hold a Networking Investor Day on September 30, which could provide additional detail on strategy and growth prospects.
• Negative Sentiment: Supply constraints are overshadowing the earnings beat. Investors appear concerned that limited component availability could prevent HPE from fully converting its AI and networking backlog into near-term sales, while a greater mix of AI systems may pressure margins. HPE Earnings Soar but Supply Constraints Aren’t Going Away
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed: Piper Sandler reaffirmed neutral and cut its target to $57, UBS lowered its target to $59, and Wells Fargo reduced its target to $54 despite retaining equal weight.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Up 4.7%

NYSE HPE traded up $2.42 on Thursday, hitting $54.25. 65,934,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,957,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.09. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52-week low of $19.84 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.46.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $12.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.97 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 3.94% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.1425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HPE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Argus increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $30.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $65.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 18,785 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total value of $911,072.50. 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 own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 317.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 149,810 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after buying an additional 113,906 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 23,593 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 25.8% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,662 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 3,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is an enterprise technology company that designs, develops and sells IT infrastructure, software and services for business and government customers. Its core offerings span servers, storage, networking, and related software, together with consulting, integration and support services aimed at modernizing and managing enterprise IT environments. HPE’s product portfolio includes systems for traditional data centers as well as solutions for high-performance computing, edge computing and telecommunications infrastructure.

A major focus for HPE is hybrid cloud and consumption-based IT.