Jim Cramer’s Game Plan: 13 Stocks in Focus

6. HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42

Cramer said that he wants the truth from HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) about AI PCs as he remarked:

“Now here’s a really important one: After the close, HP reports, and I wanna know the truth here if the AI PC is really doing as well as expected, then eh, I don’t think it is and I think it might not be and we need to know why.”

HP (NYSE:HPQ) offers a wide range of personal computing devices, imaging and printing products, and related services, along with solutions in digital access, graphics, and 3D printing. The company’s CEO Enrique Lores previously voiced optimism about AI PCs, noting their potential to boost both average selling prices and sales volume for the company into the coming year.

It is worth noting that in August, during CNBC’s Mad Dash, Cramer talked about a “quizzical” piece by Morgan Stanley. Erik Woodring, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, lowered the rating on HP (NYSE:HPQ) stock to Equal-Weight from Overweight, while keeping the price target at $37. In a research note, Woodring explained that the previous Overweight thesis was grounded in the expectation that the market was undervaluing a rebound in PC revenue growth, stable print margins, and increased capital returns.

Cramer called it quizzical because he emphasized the increased momentum in technology. He highlighted a key line from the analysis that said, “Additionally, with second-hand PC demand trending a bit weaker than we previously thought” and expressed disbelief. Cramer said that the analysis took everyone by surprise. Cramer went on to say:

“Morgan Stanley has excellent research, obviously, in tech and they are saying that the price target [remains] unchanged at $37, but I didn’t like this piece. I didn’t like it because as far as I was concerned, I had thought that there was some momentum in AI PC. Now, we don’t really know. They say there’s some factory limit outperformance. I think it’s [a] slower rollout but I also think that maybe people are taking their time trying to figure out AI. I don’t know. This is, again, not something I expected [from] this piece.”