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Investing.com - UBS maintained its Neutral rating and $18.00 price target on HP (NYSE:HPQ) Enterprise (NYSE:HPE), currently trading at $20.85, following the company’s conference call about its Juniper acquisition integration strategy. According to InvestingPro data, the stock appears overvalued at current levels, with 7 analysts recently revising their earnings estimates upward.
The company increased its expected run-rate operating expense savings from the Juniper acquisition from $450 million to $600 million, according to UBS analyst David Vogt.
HPE expects one-third of these savings, approximately $200 million, to materialize in the first year after closing, which exceeds UBS’s previous expectation of $150 million.
Despite the improved synergy target, UBS notes the transaction is still expected to be free cash flow dilutive in the first year after closing.
The acquisition will increase HPE’s financial leverage to approximately 3x, which is significantly higher than HPE’s pre-deal standalone leverage of 1x and contrasts with the net cash positions held by competitors Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Extreme, and Juniper at closing. For deeper insights into HPE’s financial health and detailed analysis, access the comprehensive Pro Research Report available exclusively on InvestingPro.
In other recent news, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) completed its acquisition of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR), which has led to a series of updates and evaluations from various analysts. HPE now anticipates at least $600 million in cost synergies over the next three years, up from a previous estimate of $450 million, as highlighted by BofA Securities and Evercore ISI, both of which raised their price targets for HPE to $24 and $25, respectively. Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James reiterated its Strong Buy rating and maintained a $29 price target, noting the increased synergy targets but awaiting more comprehensive financial details expected in future earnings calls. S&P Global Ratings revised HPE’s outlook to stable from negative, projecting a decline in pro forma adjusted leverage and revenue growth in the mid-teen percent area by fiscal 2025 and 2026. The acquisition is expected to double HPE’s networking segment revenue to about $10 billion, accounting for more than half of its pro forma operating income. Additionally, HPE secured $56 million in contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense for high-performance computing projects, with work set to take place in Mississippi and Ohio. These developments are part of HPE’s broader strategy to enhance its competitive positioning and financial performance in the coming years.
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