NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Price Target Raised to $195.00 at Susquehanna

Key Points

• Susquehanna raised NetApp’s price target to $195 from $185 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying approximately 7.9% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall maintain a “Hold” consensus with an average target of $187.15.
• NetApp reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up nearly 30% year over year to about $2.02 billion and EPS of $2.58 exceeding the $2.12 consensus estimate. The company also raised its fiscal 2027 outlook and issued second-quarter EPS guidance above expectations.
• Despite the earnings beat, investors remain concerned about declining gross margins and weaker free cash flow, which fell to roughly $401 million. The stock opened at $180.77, down 1.3%, while insiders have sold shares during the past 90 days.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Susquehanna from $185.00 to $195.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Susquehanna's target price points to a potential upside of 7.87% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NTAP. Citigroup raised their target price on NetApp from $150.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut NetApp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore set a $210.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of NetApp from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $173.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $187.15.

NetApp Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $180.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.45 and a 200-day moving average of $139.96. The company has a market cap of $35.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.44. NetApp has a one year low of $93.69 and a one year high of $209.06.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The data storage provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 9.730-10.030 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 2.540-2.640 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NetApp will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In other news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total transaction of $193,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,872,164.54. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 2,608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.48, for a total value of $533,283.84. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 46,530 shares in the company, valued at $9,514,454.40. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,072 shares of company stock valued at $8,719,520. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NetApp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTAP. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NetApp by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in NetApp by 3.0% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 833 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRWM Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NetApp by 1.8% during the first quarter. MRWM Advisors LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Key NetApp News

Here are the key news stories impacting NetApp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetApp reported record fiscal Q1 revenue of approximately $2.03 billion, up nearly 30% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS of $2.58 exceeded the roughly $2.12 analyst consensus. All-flash array revenue increased 47% to $1.31 billion, supported by AI and hybrid-cloud demand. NetApp Stock Tanks Despite Strong Q1 Earnings Print
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its fiscal 2027 outlook to approximately $8.0 billion-$8.2 billion in revenue and $9.73-$10.03 in non-GAAP EPS, well above consensus expectations. It also issued Q2 EPS guidance of $2.54-$2.64, ahead of estimates. NetApp Raises Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: NetApp announced new ONTAP capabilities validated for VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 and disclosed the acquisition of AI data-infrastructure company DataPelago, potentially strengthening its position in AI workloads and private cloud. NetApp VMware Cloud Foundation Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: NetApp maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.52 per share, payable October 28 to shareholders of record October 9, implying an annualized yield of about 1.2%.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors reacted negatively to management’s warning that second-quarter gross margin will decline. Non-GAAP gross margin was 70.6% in Q1, while product margins came under sequential pressure from higher component costs and a less favorable product mix. NetApp Warns Gross Margin Will Fall
• Negative Sentiment: Free cash flow fell to approximately $401 million, while operating cash flow was $503 million and inventory increased. The weaker cash conversion raised concerns about execution and valuation after a substantial prior run-up, prompting profit-taking despite the earnings and guidance beats. NetApp Free Cash Flow Decline

NetApp Company Profile

NetApp, Inc NASDAQ: NTAP is a data management and storage company that delivers hybrid cloud data services for applications and data. Founded in 1992 as Network Appliance and rebranded as NetApp in 2008, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. NetApp's offering focuses on enabling organizations to store, manage, protect and move data across on-premises environments and major public clouds.

The company's product portfolio centers on the ONTAP data management software and a range of storage systems and services built around it.

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