---
title: "HPE's CEO sold $15.1 million of stock; five weeks later Barclays said the growth was memory inflation"
description: "Antonio Neri's trust sold 250,000 HPE shares at $60.44 on September 11, under a plan adopted in June. Barclays' October 14 call that HPE's revenue growth is memory inflation, not AI demand, has the stock below the chief executive's exit price."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Markets"
published: 2026-10-18T19:09:47.604Z
modified: 2026-10-18T19:09:47.604Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/hpe-s-ceo-sold-15-1-million-of-stock-five-weeks-later-barclays-said-the-growth-was-memory-inflation
language: en
keywords: "Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Insider Selling, Analyst Downgrades, Markets, Memory Prices"
---

# HPE's CEO sold $15.1 million of stock; five weeks later Barclays said the growth was memory inflation

> Antonio Neri's trust sold 250,000 HPE shares at $60.44 on September 11, under a plan adopted in June. Barclays' October 14 call that HPE's revenue growth is memory inflation, not AI demand, has the stock below the chief executive's exit price.

## The sale that came first

On September 11, 2026, the revocable trust holding the stock of Antonio Neri, chief executive of [Hewlett Packard Enterprise](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/hewlett-packard-enterprise), sold 250,000 shares at a weighted average of $60.44, banking about $15.1 million [1]. [The Form 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission filing for insider trades](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1645590/000164840126000009/form4.xml), shows the sale ran under a schedule adopted on June 4 and left Neri with 1,432,393 shares [1]. The stock then touched a 52-week high of $73.56 in early October [4], before losing roughly 20% between October 9 and 15, a stretch [Barron's](https://www.barrons.com/articles/hpe-stock-price-worst-week-bccc2c85) called the worst week in the company's history [2][3].

## A beat that Barclays reads as memory inflation

The break came on October 14, when [Barclays](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/barclays) analyst Tim Long cut [HPE](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/hewlett-packard-enterprise), [Dell](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/dell-technologies) and [NetApp](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/netapp) to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered HPE's target to $77 from $83 [7]. Long wrote that strong enterprise revenue is "[more of a function of memory costs than a move to enterprise AI at this time](https://moneycheck.com/dell-stock-tumbles-12-as-barclays-questions-the-ai-story/)" [8]. His survey work puts about 5% of corporate IT budgets on AI, with roughly a quarter of that sliver reaching hardware [5], and his coverage group now trades near 21 times estimated 2027 earnings against a five-year average of about 15 [6]. The quarter in dispute was a blowout: $12.21 billion of revenue, up 33.7%, and $1.11 of earnings per share against a $0.93 estimate, reported on September 2 [2].

*Chart: **The revenue run Barclays says is memory prices, not AI demand** Column chart of HPE quarterly revenue from Q3 2024 to Q2 2026, rising from 8.458 to 12.213 billion dollars.*

*HPE quarterly revenue by fiscal quarter, in billions of dollars. The September 2 report put Q2 2026 at $12.21 billion, up 33.7% year on year, the quarter Barclays says memory costs inflated. Source: HPE quarterly figures from its SEC filings. [10]*

## The paper the wires skipped

HPE slipped about 8% on the day of the downgrade [8], fell 7% more to $58.63 on October 15, its fourth straight decline [4], and opened Friday at $55.32 [2]. What the downgrade coverage left out is [the insider record](https://theinference.org/article/gitlab-sold-the-ai-factory-story-while-insiders-sold-103-8-million-of-the-stock) beside it. [HPE insiders sold 551,456 shares worth $35.27 million over three months](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-hewlett-packard-enterprise-company-hpe-shares-sold-by-howard-capital-management-llc-2026-10-18/), among them executive vice president [Rami Rahim](https://theinference.org/markets/people/rami-rahim)'s $2.1 million at $61.42 on September 29; the twelve-month tally is $71.1 million sold, nothing bought [2][4]. The CEO banked $15.1 million at $60.44; the dip now trades at $55.32.

*Chart: **The stock has fallen through the price the chief executive sold at** Line chart of the HPE share price at four moments, from $60.44 on September 11 up to a $73.56 high in early October and down to a $55.32 open on October 16.*

*HPE's share price at the moments the story turns on, in dollars: the trust's September 11 weighted average sale price, the 52-week high touched in early October, the October 15 close and Friday's October 16 open. Sources: SEC Form 4, GuruFocus, MarketBeat. [1][4][2]*

## The bulls have documents too

Neri's plan was adopted four months before the peak, the pre-scheduled selling that [Rule 10b5-1 plans](https://theinference.org/article/fermi-founder-sold-14-million-of-frmi-with-no-trading-plan-weeks-after-saying-he-had-sold-none) exist for [1]. Elliott Investment Management, the activist fund, lifted its HPE stake 47.2% in the first quarter to 27.4 million shares [2]. Michael Dell, whose company took the same cut, told CNBC that AI infrastructure demand should outpace supply through 2030 [8]. The most-recommended HPE post on [Stocktwits](https://stocktwits.com/rogerrogers/message/666551494) during the October 15 selloff noted Long "was giving warning about [Apple](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/apple) when it was $200" and dismissed him as clueless [9]. Consensus still reads Moderate Buy across 20 analysts [2].

*Chart: **Every HPE target on the Street sits above the $55.32 open** Bar chart of analyst price targets for HPE, from Citigroup at 92 dollars down to the consensus at 65.44, with a reference line at the 55.32 dollar Friday open.*

*Price targets for HPE from sell-side analysts, in dollars, with the consensus of 20 analysts at $65.44. The reference line marks the $55.32 open on Friday, October 16; Barclays cut its target from $83 to $77 on October 14. Source: MarketBeat, 18 October 2026. [2]*

## The quarter that settles it

HPE guides its fourth quarter, which closes October 31, at $1.20 to $1.30 of earnings per share [2]. If revenue keeps growing after memory costs stop inflating it, the downgrade was early. The Form 4s filed afterward will show which side held its shares.

## Takeaway

Neri's trust banked $15.1 million at $60.44 under a June plan; Barclays' memory-inflation call has HPE opening at $55.32, and the quarter closing October 31 decides it.

## Sources

1. [SEC Form 4, Antonio F. Neri, President and CEO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, filed 15 September 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1645590/000164840126000009/form4.xml)
2. [MarketBeat, HPE Shares Sold by Howard Capital Management LLC (results, insider sales, Elliott stake, targets, Friday open), 18 October 2026](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-hewlett-packard-enterprise-company-hpe-shares-sold-by-howard-capital-management-llc-2026-10-18/)
3. [Barron's, Kit Norton, HPE Stock's Worst Week Ever Exposes Wall Street's Newest Fear, 16 October 2026](https://www.barrons.com/articles/hpe-stock-price-worst-week-bccc2c85)
4. [GuruFocus, HPE Shares Drop Over 7% Amid Barclays Downgrade, 15 October 2026](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/9126372/hewlett-packard-enterprise-hpe-shares-drop-over-7-amid-barclays-downgrade)
5. [Startup Fortune, Barclays downgrade wipes out billions in Dell, HPE and Oracle shares, 18 October 2026](https://startupfortune.com/barclays-downgrade-wipes-out-billions-in-dell-hpe-and-oracle-shares/)
6. [Foreign Policy Journal, Barclays Downgrades Dell, HPE And NetApp After Valuations Run Too Far Ahead Of AI Reality, 15 October 2026](https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2026/10/15/barclays-downgrades-dell-nyse-dell-hpe-and-netapp-after-valuations-run-too-far-ahead-of-ai-reality/)
7. [Stocktwits News, HPE, DELL, NTAP Stocks Downgraded, Barclays Sees No 'Meaningful AI Inflection', 14 October 2026](https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/hpe-dell-ntap-stocks-downgraded-barclays-sees-no-meaningful-ai-inflection/cZxfmk2RBp8)
8. [MoneyCheck, Dell Stock Tumbles 12% as Barclays Questions the AI Story, 14 October 2026](https://moneycheck.com/dell-stock-tumbles-12-as-barclays-questions-the-ai-story/)
9. [Stocktwits, @rogerrogers on $HPE, 15 October 2026](https://stocktwits.com/rogerrogers/message/666551494)
10. [Hewlett Packard Enterprise, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 18 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001645590)


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HPE's CEO sold $15.1 million of stock; five weeks later Barclays said the growth was memory inflation — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/hpe-s-ceo-sold-15-1-million-of-stock-five-weeks-later-barclays-said-the-growth-was-memory-inflation