** Hewlett Packard Enterprise's HPE.N shares up 3.3% to $21.73 on Thurs after Morgan Stanley upgrades AI-server maker to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight'

** Brokerage boosts PT by $6 to $28, implying 33% upside to stock's last close

** The market continues to underestimate the full earnings power of HPE inclusive of Juniper Networks acquisition, Morgan Stanley analyst team led by Erik Woodring wrote in note

** Woodring sees an improving networking landscape, as his checks and enterprise channel partners signaling a return to y/y networking growth

** He sees a "clear path" to valuation multiple expansion post-Juniper, pointing to core networking peers trading at 16x P/E vs HPE currently at ~10x despite 40-50% of earnings expected to come from its combined networking business

** Of 20 analysts covering HPE, recommendation breakdown is 11 "strong buy" or "buy" and 9 "hold" ratings and median PT is $24, per LSEG data

** With move on the session, shares up ~2% YTD vs S&P 500 Tech sector's .SPLRCT ~12% advance

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

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