Oracle upbeat results, bullish AI brokerage calls power hardware stocks
DELL•Hardware stocks rally on Oracle and AI optimism
Shares of hardware companies advanced, leading Wall Street's rebound from declines earlier this week.
Dell rose 11.2% to a record high, Hewlett Packard Enterprise rose 10.3% to a one-month high, and HP advanced 8.6%, hitting its highest since Dec. 2024.
The three stocks were the top performers on the S&P 500.
RBC initiated coverage of Dell with an outperform rating and a $640 price target, citing sustained AI infrastructure demand, a $95 billion server backlog, storage-led margin expansion and robust cash returns.
RBC started HP with a sector perform rating and a $33 price target, saying it is a solid AI-PC beneficiary, but faces challenges and near-term margin pressure for its print business.
Oracle's Q1 beat also lifted broader AI-related stocks, analysts said.
"Oracle's results were surprisingly good... certainly helping the tech space in general," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Year to date, Dell is up 349%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ahead 155%, and HP is up 62%, all outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
