Pent-Up Pessimism Could Ignite Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock

Enterprise technology firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) spun off from PC specialist HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) in late 2015, and has been trekking up the charts ever since. Year-over-year, the former stock has muscled 70% higher, outdistancing the broader market. But you wouldn't know it based on Wall Street sentiment.

Starting with the brokerage bunch, 13 of 22 analysts rate HPE a "hold" or "strong sell." This leaves plenty of room for upgrades to stoke the stock's fire.

Meanwhile, options traders have been very bearish, buying to open 9.42 puts for every call during the last two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) -- in the put-skewed 96th annual percentile. Echoing this, HPE's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) is a top-heavy 2.50, just 4 percentage points from a 12-month peak. From a contrarian perspective, an unwinding of these bearish put positions -- especially at strikes immediately underfoot -- could translate into support.

It's a good time to purchase premium on short-term HPE options. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) is 78, suggesting the market has underestimated the shares' ability to make big moves over the past year. Plus, the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 27% sits below 88% of all readings from the previous 52 weeks, hinting at modest near-term volatility expectations.

Last but not least, our recommended call option has a leverage ratio of roughly 7.0, meaning it will double in value on a 13% gain in the underlying shares.