UPDATE: S&P Capital IQ Upgrades Hewlett-Packard On More Positive Outlook

In a report published Tuesday, S&P Capital IQ analyst A. Zino upgraded the rating on Hewlett-Packard HPQ from Buy to Strong Buy, and raised the price target from $39.00 to $44.00. In the report, S&P Capital IQ noted, “We raise our FY 14 (Oct.) operating EPS estimate by $0.01 to $3.72 and FY 15's by $0.04 to $3.92. We also increase our 12-month target by $5 to $44, on a higher revised P/E near peers and near HPQ's 5-year historical average. "We have greater conviction about stabilization within HPQ's PC and printing markets, which should give it time to execute on new product initiatives in mobility, enterprise and software. We see a better IT spending outlook in calendar year '15 and positively view free cash flow/balance sheet improvement. We see earnings growth aided by cost cutting efforts.” Hewlett-Packard closed on Monday at $33.78.