Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 9,657 Shares of NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its NetApp stake by 24.2% in the first quarter, buying 9,657 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 49,528 shares worth about $5.07 million.
• Insider selling was notable over the last 90 days, including President Cesar Cernuda’s sale of 49,464 shares and EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan’s sale of 1,000 shares, leaving insiders with just 0.28% ownership.
• Analysts remain mixed on NetApp: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $169.33, while the company also reported Q4 revenue growth of 12.5% but missed EPS estimates on its latest earnings release.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 24.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,528 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 9,657 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in NetApp were worth $5,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $458,060,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in NetApp by 378.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,329,475 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $136,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,863 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in NetApp by 94.6% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,823,292 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $215,987,000 after buying an additional 886,485 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in NetApp by 71.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,849,218 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $219,058,000 after buying an additional 771,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in NetApp by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,915,553 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $582,296,000 after buying an additional 718,409 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In other NetApp news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.82, for a total value of $7,658,016.48. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 46,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,246,504.92. This trade represents a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 18,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,164,112.86. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,106,972. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTAP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NetApp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.33.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $155.06 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $138.59 and a 200-day moving average of $115.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44. NetApp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.69 and a twelve month high of $192.83. The firm has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.44.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.27 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. NetApp's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.70%.

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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