International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 2% – What’s Next?

Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) traded down 2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $295.87 and last traded at $296.07. 3,420,148 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 4,759,435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $302.05.

More International Business Machines News

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strength in IBM’s AI and quantum narrative — several pieces highlight IBM as a leading, diversified quantum and AI play versus pure‑play quantum names, which supports a longer‑term growth thesis and helped push the stock higher into year‑end. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile support: Jim Cramer and other commentators have called IBM undervalued, which can attract retail flows and support the stock after recent gains. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised full‑year FY2026/FY2027 estimates modestly in late‑December, indicating some analyst confidence in IBM’s near‑term earnings trajectory (upgrades were small but supportive of the consensus earnings picture).
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed Wall Street reaction to IBM’s Dec. 8 acquisition of Confluent — some analysts see strategic value (data/AI platform synergies) while others are cautious about execution and near‑term costs; that divergence is producing volatility rather than a clear re‑rating. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM’s move matters to indexes: QuiverQuant notes IBM’s intraday fall is one of multiple contributors to weakness in VOO—this is more an index‑flow/market‑impact note than company‑specific news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Small downward EPS revision: Zacks trimmed its Q3 2027 EPS forecast slightly, a technical negative that may amplify selling from investors who focus on quarterly cadence despite the change being marginal.
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment/legacy news: The death of Lou Gerstner, credited with transforming IBM in the 1990s, has emotional resonance for investors and produced heavy media coverage—this can create short‑term news noise and selling pressure from sentiment‑driven traders. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, November 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings raised International Business Machines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $293.38.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market cap of $276.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $304.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.21.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.09% and a return on equity of 37.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at $852,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,565,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,051,475 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,019,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,708 shares during the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,710,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 122,623 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,147,000 after buying an additional 3,537 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.