The One Analyst Defending H-P (HPQ, DELL, IBM)

To say that Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) has undergone some winds of change would be the understatement of the year.  One analyst has come out in defense of H-P.  Auriga now sees opportunity in the mess.  The firm has raised its rating to “Buy” from “Hold” with a $32.00 price target.

The firm noted that they usually look for opportunity when caution is present, and the firm believes that the steep drop in the price of H-P shares has brought into an oversold position. While the current price target is lower than the consensus target of $43.00, the current rating is more positive for buyers today and Auriga calls it an attractive risk-reward scenario even with the unknowns.

Zacks calls it a “Win-Win” analysis, but not for H-P… for its peers (competitors).  Zacks maintained a short-term hold as it sees stiff competition in the Autonomy purchase and as it unravels its Palm (WebOS) for the most part.  Zacks called it a huge opportunity for Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and others as it looks to be more and more like a post-PC spin-off scenario just like International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM).

Before getting too hooked on the near-6% gain to $24.95 this morning, keep in mind that this stock hit as high as $34.00 on the day of earnings on word that it was going to spin out the PC unit. The drop on Friday was about 20% alone.

JON C. OGG