BUZZ-HP drops as BofA downgrades PC maker to "neutral"

** HP Inc's HPQ.N shares down 3.5% to $35.55 early Fri after BofA Global Research downgrades to "neutral" from "buy"

** Any EPS growth will come purely from share buybacks as potential upside from personal computers (PCs) to be offset by lower print margins, BofA analyst team led by Wamsi Mohan says in note

** Pricing pressure in print to continue in both consumer and commercials markets as Japanese competitors benefit from weaker yen, BofA says

** Brokerage sticks with $37 PT

** Last month, HP forecast downbeat profit due to choppy demand in PC market, and said it was seeing slower recovery in print

** Now, 6 of 17 brokerages rate HPQ "strong buy" or "buy", 10 have "hold" and 1 has "sell" recommendation with median PT of $35.50, per LSEG

** With moves on Fri, stock up ~22% YTD vs S&P 500 Tech sector's .SPLRCT ~30% advance and S&P 500's .SPX ~21% rise

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))