Hewlett-Packard Gets Plaudits and 2 Hot Stocks to Watch

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ): On Monday, the company saw an upgrade to Overweight, or Buy, rating by Morgan Stanley. In a note to clients, analyst Katy Huberty claimed that she predicts growth in the company’s free cash flow and EPS during fiscal ’14, along with predicting that “stronger FCF [free cash flow] “accelerates timing of cash return to investors.” The brokerage gives the stock a price target of $27. “H-P CEO Meg Whitman is effecting a structural change at H-P in which decision makers are tasked to consider FCF implications rather than historical incentives targeted to revenue and EPS,” Huberty wrote, adding that “a return to low 20s cash conversion cycle can drive incremental FCF.”