Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE shares have gained 17.5% in the year-to-date period. HPE stock has underperformed the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry, Zacks Computer and Technology Sector and the S&P 500 index’s return of 27.

General Motors and Ford Motor were downgraded by Morgan Stanley on Chinese compeition. U.S. equities were mostly lower at midday Wednesday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed at fresh record highs. The Dow and the S&P 500 were down, and the Nasdaq was little changed.

Hewlett Packard (HPE) stock is higher after Barclays upgraded it to "overweight" and hiked its price target $24

This was the stock's fourth consecutive day of gains.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares surged 5% after Barclays upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight, raising the price target to $24 from $20. Barclays says HPE stock does not have what it calls an "AI premium" seen with other tech names,