UPDATE: JP Morgan Upgrades Hewlett-Packard to Neutral; Headline News Bearishness at a Trough

JP Morgan upgraded Hewlett-Packard Company

from Underweight to Neutral and raised the price target from $15.00 to $21.00. JP Morgan commented, "With HP, our view is that the headline news just cannot get much worse. A positive turnaround in the model is likely to be measured in years, though, and we continue to think that HP faces an uncertain growth profile. We also believe that HP eventually needs to divest one or more business segments in order to set the stage for sustainable revenue and earnings growth. All of these factors underpin why we are moving only to Neutral. A break-up of the current business model, particularly the divestiture of PCs or printing, could make us become more constructive on the stock." Hewlett-Packard closed at $16.16 on Friday.