Goldman Restarts Coverage on IT Hardware Firms, HP Target Cut to $21

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

DELL-0.43%

HPE+1.29%

HPQ-1.25%

Source: seekingalpha

Updated: 1h ago

0mins

Source: seekingalpha

Rating Adjustments: Goldman restarted coverage on Dell Technologies (DELL), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), TD Synnex (SNX), and Penguin Solutions (PENG) with Buy ratings, while HP (HPQ) saw its price target cut to $21, indicating a cautious outlook on its future performance.
Market Outlook: Analysts expect IT hardware demand to face challenges in 2026; while AI infrastructure demand remains strong, traditional PC and server markets may struggle due to high costs and weak demand, impacting overall industry performance.
Investment Recommendations: Goldman advises investors to buy Dell Technologies (DELL) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), with Dell seen as an AI-driven earnings grower and HPE showing attractive business transformation potential, while also recommending NetApp (NTAP) for its high-margin cloud service returns.
Industry Dynamics: Despite underperformance in IT hardware stocks in 2025, Goldman believes there are selective investment opportunities in 2026, particularly as investors focus on AI demand sustainability and cost pressures, suggesting a patient approach for potential returns.

DELL

$119.95+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on DELL

Wall Street analysts forecast DELL stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for DELL is 168.00 USD with a low forecast of 113.00 USD and a high forecast of 200.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

17 Analyst Rating

13 Buy

3 Hold

1 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 120.470

Low

113.00

Averages

168.00

High

200.00

Current: 120.470

Low

113.00

Averages

168.00

High

200.00

Morgan Stanley

Equal Weight

downgrade

$23 -> $21

2025-12-17

Reason

Morgan Stanley

Price Target

$23 -> $21

2025-12-17

downgrade

Equal Weight

Reason

Morgan Stanley lowered the firm's price target on Ingram Micro (INGM) to $21 from $23 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Among the IT Hardware group, the firm recommends being overweight cloud capex winners, product-cycle beneficiaries such as Apple, and unique assets, while it suggests being underweight stocks with elevated memory exposure - like Dell (DELL) and HP (HPQ) - and is "increasingly more cautious" on memory-exposed names as well, the analyst tells investors in a year-ahead note.

Mizuho

Vijay Rakesh

Outperform

maintain

$170 -> $175

2025-11-26

Reason

Mizuho

Vijay Rakesh

Price Target

$170 -> $175

2025-11-26

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $175 from $170 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company reported "strong" October quarter revenue on artificial intelligence server upside with stable gross margins, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Dell is well positioned into 2027.

Morgan Stanley

Underweight

maintain

$110 -> $113

2025-11-26

Reason

Morgan Stanley

Price Target

$110 -> $113

2025-11-26

maintain

Underweight

Reason

Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $113 from $110 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. Dell management acknowledged the memory cycle is "unprecedented," but also spoke to better preparedness and guided to preliminary FY27 EPS growth of 15%-plus, which is "well ahead" of the firm's and Street EPS forecasts, the analyst tells investors. While the firm doesn't doubt Dell will manage this cycle better than peers, it still believes growth and/or margins will be impacted, the analyst added.

UBS

Buy

downgrade

$186 -> $167

2025-11-26

Reason

UBS

Price Target

$186 -> $167

2025-11-26

downgrade

Buy

Reason

UBS lowered the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $167 from $186 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Dell reported strong AI demand, while commodity inflation is more of a fiscal 2027 impact, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

About DELL

Dell Technologies Inc. is engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, selling, and supporting a wide range of comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services. The Company operates through two segments: Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). Its ISG segment enables the Company’s customer’s digital transformation with solutions that address artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data analytics, and multi cloud environments. Its comprehensive storage portfolio includes modern and traditional storage solutions, including all-flash arrays, scale-out file, object platforms, hyper-converged infrastructure, and software-defined storage. Its CSG segment offers branded personal computers (PCs) including notebooks, desktops, and workstations and branded peripherals that include displays, docking stations, keyboards, mice, and webcam and audio devices, as well as third-party software and peripherals.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.