AlphaQuest LLC Has $3.01 Million Stock Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC boosted its NetApp stake by 727.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 28,113 shares worth about $3.01 million.
• Analyst sentiment has softened, with several firms downgrading NetApp and MarketBeat showing a current consensus rating of Hold with a target price of $122.27.
• NetApp reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings of $2.12 per share on revenue of $1.71 billion, and it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share for a 1.5% annualized yield.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 727.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,113 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 24,715 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in NetApp were worth $3,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS increased its holdings in NetApp by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS now owns 2,100 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in NetApp by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NetApp by 2.0% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,526 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NetApp by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of NetApp by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,559 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NTAP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded NetApp from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded NetApp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on NetApp from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup cut NetApp from a "neutral" rating to a "mixed" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,164,112.86. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $33,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,800. This represents a 20.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,275 shares of company stock valued at $347,650. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

NetApp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $139.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. NetApp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.69 and a 12 month high of $141.75. The company has a market cap of $27.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.91.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The data storage provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.05. NetApp had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 118.11%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. NetApp has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.210-2.310 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.920-8.020 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NetApp, Inc. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. NetApp's payout ratio is presently 34.78%.

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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