Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) went into the Thanksgiving holiday on an upbeat note as its shares rose almost 5%, Wednesday, following a quarterly report and outlook led by strong PC sales.
Dell (DELL) ended the day at $57.30 a share on heavy volume of almost 13 million shares exchanged--or more than twice the 5.8 million shares that are traded in an average market day.
The key to the enthusiasm for Dell (DELL) was the company's client solutions group revenue--client solutions being Dell's term for PCs for businesses and consumers--which rose by 35% from a year ago, to $16.5 billion. Analysts said that figure, which included commercial sales rising 40% and consumer revenue climbing 21% from a year ago, suggests that demand for PCs isn't slowing down.
"Commercial revenue grew as businesses look to upgrade devices for the long-term in-office, remote and hybrid workforce," said Bank of America Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan, who added that consumer PC sales were boosted by growth in notebooks, and premium and gaming desktop computers.
Mohan maintained his buy rating on Dell's stock, and raised his price target to $68 a share from $66.
With PCs leading the way, Dell reported a quarterly profit of $2.37 a share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $28.4 billion. The company also forecast fourth-quarter earnings of $1.85 to $2.05 a share, excluding one-time items, on revenue between $27 billion and $28 billion.