New York, January 21, 2026, 15:07 EST — Regular session
- Dell shares climbed roughly 2.7%, rebounding from Tuesday’s steep drop linked to a Morgan Stanley sector downgrade
- Morgan Stanley lowered Dell’s price target to $111, maintaining its Underweight rating
- Citi cut its price target to $165 but maintained a Buy rating ahead of Dell’s Feb. 26 earnings report
Dell Technologies shares bounced back Wednesday, recovering some losses from the prior day’s sharp decline as investors digested new analyst views on corporate hardware budgets. The stock climbed roughly 2.7% to $114.03, having dipped to $110.26 earlier in the session.
The swing is crucial since Dell straddles a key segment: corporate PCs on one hand, data-center equipment on the other. With 2026 budget plans emerging and component prices edging higher, Wall Street has been swift to adjust valuations based on that balance.
Morgan Stanley downgraded its outlook on North American IT hardware to “cautious” on Tuesday, flagging weaker demand as companies tighten spending amid economic uncertainty and rising component costs. Survey data shows just 1% year-on-year growth in 2026 hardware budgets. The bank also highlighted that value-added resellers — the middlemen selling hardware and services to corporate clients — report 30% to 60% of their customers plan to cut purchases if price hikes driven by component inflation continue. 1
Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring cut his price target on Dell to $111 from $113, maintaining an Underweight rating. This signals he expects Dell’s shares to underperform others in his coverage. Woodring noted that resellers are preparing for an “elastic demand response” if input costs continue rising, despite AI-related demand providing some support. 2
Citigroup took a different approach. Citi analyst Asiya Merchant cut her price target on Dell to $165 from $175 but maintained a Buy rating. She pointed to strong hyperscaler data-center spending — the major cloud players — as a key driver keeping demand steady throughout the hardware supply chain. 3
Dell’s stock closed Tuesday at $111.07, slipping 7.85% from the previous day as Morgan Stanley’s downgrade weighed on the wider hardware sector. 4
The question no longer revolves around if AI spending is happening, but rather who pockets the profits—and how fat those margins will be. Dell’s shares have been acting like a barometer for the strength of corporate refresh cycles amid the ongoing data-center expansion.
Right alongside that risk is the threat of customers holding off on PC and server upgrades as prices climb faster than their budgets allow. That scenario could pinch hardware makers from both ends — selling fewer units and facing tighter margins — turning guidance into the next flashpoint.
Dell will announce its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. CST, per the company’s investor events calendar. 5
Investors are tuning in for shifts in Dell’s commentary on enterprise demand, component costs, and pricing. They’ll also scrutinize updates on the AI-server pipeline, since changes in product mix can cause profits to vary from quarter to quarter.
Until the update arrives, Dell shares will probably track analyst target revisions and any fresh hints about corporate IT spending. Traders are zeroing in on Feb. 26 as the key date now.
