What Happened?
Shares of enterprise technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) jumped 12.1% in the afternoon session after the U.S. Department of Justice approved its $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.
The deal, which had been challenged by regulators over concerns it would limit competition in the wireless networking market, is now set to proceed. To satisfy government requirements, HPE agreed to sell its Instant On WLAN business and license Juniper's AI-powered networking software source code. The acquisition is a key part of HPE's strategy to bolster its artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud offerings, providing customers with a modern network architecture capable of handling demanding AI workloads. The resolution of the regulatory hurdle sent shares of both companies soaring.
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What The Market Is Telling Us
Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s shares are very volatile and have had 22 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock dropped 14.2% on the news that President Trump announced "reciprocal tariffs" on all US imports, set at a minimum rate of 10%.
Markets reacted negatively to the announcement, reflecting deep concerns among investors about the broader economic implications. The tariffs were likely seen as a significant threat to global trade flows, with the potential to slow economic growth, drive up consumer prices, and spark retaliatory measures.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives captured the prevailing market anxiety, stating, "We would characterize this slate of tariffs as 'worse than the worst case scenario' the Street was fearing." His comment highlighted how the scope and severity of the tariffs far exceeded Wall Street's expectations, adding a new layer of uncertainty for businesses and investors.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is down 3.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $20.66 per share, it is trading 15.4% below its 52-week high of $24.42 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,122.
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