What Happened?
Shares of computer hardware and IT solutions company Dell (NYSE: DELL) jumped 2.9% in the afternoon session after analyst firm Barclays upgraded its rating on the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, pointing to strong orders for the company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) servers.
The bank expressed growing confidence in Dell's position in the AI server space and noted improving opportunities in enterprise server and storage markets. The upgrade was driven primarily by stronger-than-expected demand for its AI-focused hardware. Barclays kept its price target on the shares at $148.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $121.63, up 2.5% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Dell’s shares are very volatile and have had 21 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock dropped 4.2% on the news that the company admitted at the CES 2026 tech conference that its push for artificial intelligence in personal computers was not resonating with customers.
Dell's head of product, Kevin Terwilliger, stated that consumers were "not buying based on AI" and that the marketing message likely confused them more than it helped. This blunt assessment from company leadership at a major industry event cast doubt on a key part of its recent strategy. The investor reaction suggested concern over the company's product direction. This negative sentiment overshadowed Dell's simultaneous announcements of new products, including an expanded portfolio of laptops and advanced monitors.
Dell is down 4.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $121.63 per share, it is trading 26.2% below its 52-week high of $164.88 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Dell’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,638.
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