International Paper Rises on Potential Sale Interest in European Packaging Business

International Paper Company (IP) is up 7.6% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to fresh takeover interest in International Paper’s European packaging operations, which investors may see as a faster and cleaner value-creation path than a stand-alone separation. The stock likely also benefited from renewed attention on the company’s broader restructuring plan for its Europe, Middle East and Africa business.

Details:

A report published Thursday said two private equity firms are separately exploring multibillion-dollar bids for International Paper’s European packaging business, the unit built around the former DS Smith assets.

Investors appear to be treating a possible sale as a potential value unlock because International Paper had already planned to separate that EMEA packaging business into an independent public company.

International Paper previously said the split would create two focused packaging companies, with the North American business remaining under International Paper and the EMEA assets standing on their own.

The company’s investor materials now frame the EMEA business as DS Smith ahead of a planned separation, which may have made any outside interest in the asset more meaningful to the market.

Sources:

International Paper, Financial Times, Bloomberg Law

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$IP Insider Trading Activity

$IP insiders have traded $IP stock on the open market 2 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $IP stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

WILLIAM THOMAS HAMIC (Exec. VP & President) sold 24,500 shares for an estimated $1,009,397
SCOTT TOZIER purchased 10,000 shares for an estimated $313,009

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

$IP Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 416 institutional investors add shares of $IP stock to their portfolio, and 377 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS removed 17,109,071 shares (-46.7%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $651,855,605
AQR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC added 7,648,972 shares (+619.0%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $291,425,833
FRANKLIN RESOURCES INC removed 5,812,309 shares (-51.1%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $221,448,972
INVESCO LTD. added 5,053,669 shares (+40.5%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $192,544,788
BLACKROCK, INC. added 4,715,694 shares (+10.2%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $179,667,941
BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP added 4,495,757 shares (+33.1%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $171,288,341
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC added 4,302,309 shares (+60.9%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $163,917,972

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$IP Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $IP recently. We have seen 6 analysts offer price targets for $IP in the last 6 months, with a median target of $42.5.

Here are some recent targets:

Gabe Hajde from Wells Fargo set a target price of $42.0 on 07/09/2026
Detlef Winckelmann from JP Morgan set a target price of $51.0 on 07/09/2026
Anthony Pettinari from Citigroup set a target price of $43.0 on 07/09/2026
Anojja Shah from UBS set a target price of $32.0 on 05/04/2026
Matthew McKellar from RBC Capital set a target price of $45.0 on 05/01/2026
Mark Weintraub from Seaport Global set a target price of $39.0 on 05/01/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.