Hewlett-Packard Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Hewlett-Packard (NYS: HPQ) shares have popped by as much as 12% today after Bloomberg reported that HP's board is considering outing CEO Leo Apotheker.

So what: The report mentions that former eBay (NAS: EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman is a top candidate to take Apotheker's place on an interim basis. Investors and the board alike have doubts about where Apotheker wants to take the company. Reservations have also lingered over the premium price the company has agreed to pay for British software company Autonomy.

Now what: It's a telling sign that the stock has jumped this much on just the thought of Apotheker leaving his post. Apotheker has done little to quell the criticisms he has faced lately. webOS is in disarray, while the plans to spin off the PC business are up in the air. Apotheker replaced former CEO Mark Hurd less than a year ago and has meandered along while investors suffer. Click here for a more detailed take on today's news.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Evan Niu holds no position in any company mentioned. Click here to see his holdings and a short bio. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of eBay. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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