Hewlett-Packard (HPQ - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company was sued by shareholders seeking information about the company's firing of former CEO Mark Hurd. The suing shareholders will seek "monetary relief" on behalf of the company. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on HPQ.

This morning, HPQ opened at $42.58. So far today the stock has hit a high of $42.70 and a low of $42.18. As of 12:10, HPQ is trading at $42.25, down $0.95 (-2.2%). The chart for HPQ looks bullish and S&P gives HPQ a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy .

It was only a month ago I wrote a story comparing Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Hewlett Packard (HPQ), concluding the latter to be the better opportunity from a value investor's perspective. At the time Oracle was $27.49. Yesterday it closed at a new 52-week high of $29.23 -- a gain of 6.33%.

During this time, Oracle insiders have been selling shares and the trend is negative. In September alone, almost $300 million of the stock was sold off. If you examine Barron's weekly summary of insider activity, as one source, you will find that Oracle has been in the top five companies on the sell side for many weeks. As the stock has been rising, insiders have been selling into strength.

Tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) held an investors meeting Tuesday afternoon, during which it offered a bullish 2011 forecast.

The company now sees full-year 2011 profit to be in the range of $5.05 to $5.15, better than the $4.99 that analysts had previously forecast for the year.

Revenues are expected to be in a range of $131.5 billion to $133.5 billion, which is also higher than analyst forecasts for $131.4 billion.

It's kind of sad, actually. It would have been fun to watch a legal slug-fest between Oracle (ORCL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) over Mark Hurd. Hey, it may have shed light on why HP canned Hurd. There would have also been some juicy quotes from Oracle's CEO, Larry Ellison.

But alas, Oracle, HP and Hurd have settled things up. Basically, Hurd will agree to protect HP's confidential information and he will also give up half of his equity compensation.

It was probably inevitable for HP. The company had an iffy case -- in light of the pro-employee laws in California. Besides, HP and Oracle have been long-time partners. Why ruin a good thing?

Three pieces of information stood out today. The first is that one in seven people lived in poverty last year according the US Census. That is nearly 44 million people. The Census describes these people as members of four person families that make less than $22,000 a year.

Two other pieces of data that showed the economic dreams of many American is eroding were RealtyTrac reported foreclosures hit an all time high since the housing crisis began. In July the figure rose to 95,465. Also in the housing sector, Fannie Mae research reported that while a majority of Americans (67%) continue to believe that buying a home is a safe investment, this fell 16 points since 2003. The market may have gotten the impression from these pieces of news that the recession is not over.

Today's Closing Bell numbers:

Dow Jones 10,594.83 +22.10 (0.21%)
S&P 500 1,124.66 -0.41 (-0.04%)
Nasdaq 2,303.25 +1.93 (0.08%)

"With the uber-ambitious Ellison and Hurd now paired, I think the safe bet is we're going so see Oracle (ORCL) make some major moves (yes, probably more than one major acquisition)," suggests tech sector expert Paul McWilliams.

The editor of Next Inning explains, "After all, even without Hurd at his side, Oracle founder, Larry Ellison has been an aggressive buyer and now with Hurd on board I think the appetite could become ravenous.

"I think its probably a good idea to start thinking about what Oracle might do next.

When Mark Hurd took the CEO spot for Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) in 2005, the board wanted to put an end to the drama. After all, the company's former CEO, Carly Fiorina, was a magnet for controversy. Hurd, on the other hand, was a no-nonsense operator.

Well, over the past month, he appears much different. Of course, the trigger was the resignation over allegations of sexual harassment and false expense reports. Maybe Hurd is the Manchurian CEO?

"Since being unceremoniously tossed overboard by Hewlett Packard (HPQ), the company he resurrected, Mark Hurd was tarred and feathered by the media; now Hurd has accepted a position at Oracle (ORCL); we view this bullishly and recommend the stock," says Paul McWilliams.

The tech sector expert and editor of Next Inning explains, "The media was not only quick to condemn Hurd for his conduct with a female contract worker, for which no criminal charges have been filed, it also conjured reasons to suggest Hurd was an ineffective CEO for Hewlett-Packard. Of course, these media pile-ons were long on adjectives and short on nouns and verbs.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Mark Hurd, is in talks with enterprise software maker Oracle (ORCL) about becoming an executive there. Hurd left HP in early August following allegations of sexual harassment by a former contractor. An investigation failed to find any evidence of sexual misconduct by Hurd.

What position Hurd may take up is unknown; Oracle's founder and CEO, Larry Ellison, will not be stepping down from his position, according to people familiar with the matter. Ellison did criticize HP's board for ousting Hurd, telling the New York Times that the board had failed to act in the best interest of its shareholders, employees and customers.

Shares of Hewlett Packard (HPQ), the world's largest maker of computers and printers are trading slightly lower in after hours trading with the company posting in-line earnings for its fiscal third quarter following today's market close.

The company reported its third quarter earnings were $1.08 per share, excluding restructuring charges and other impacts, which matched analyst estimates for the quarter.

Mark Hurd, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), could receive as much as $40 million in severance benefits.

A loophole in Hurd's contract could bring him this big payout. It seems that his contract did not include specific language that would permit the company to fire him "for cause." Most contracts for chief executive contain specific language that detail the conditions under which he could be fired, including breaches of the company's ethical code.

Tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) traded lower Tuesday with the overall market, but shares rose over 2% in after-hours trading following a better-than-expected earnings report for its fiscal second quarter.

Net income jumped 28% during the quarter and, excluding one time items, the company had earnings of $1.09 per share, topping analysts estimates for $1.05. During the same period last year Hewlett Packard had earnings of 71 cents per share.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), the Palo Alto, California-based personal computer giant, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal third-quarter 2009 results today in a conference call at 5:00 PM ET, hosted by CEO Mark Hurd and CFO Cathie Lesjak. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

In the quarter that ended July 31, HP expanded its selection of mini PCs, introduced a Web-based home printer, and expressed support for climate change legislation. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have forecast that earnings rose 4.4% from a year ago to 90 cents per share. That's also up four cents per share from the second quarter. But revenue for the third quarter is expected to be 2.8% lower to $27.3 billion. Earnings have essentially matched estimates in the past five quarters.

When Mark Hurd was hired as Hewlett-Packard Corporation's (NYSE: HPQ) CEO back in 2005, few predicted he would suavely make HP the world's largest computer maker by using swift cost-cutting, a relentless focus on operations, and a laser-focus on growing every possible facet of HP's business.

In addition to his in-depth analysis of technical and fundamental metrics, tech sector expert Paul McWilliams pays strong attention to the quality of management in his assessment of technology stocks.

In a special report from his Next Inning newsletter, he looks to a trio of tech players that he recommends as "strategic investments" based in large part on the quality of their chief executive officers.

Here's his look at Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT). explaining why their respective CEOs are the right people for the job.