Caxton Associates LLP Decreases Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP cut its NetApp position by 98.6% in the first quarter, selling 142,907 shares and retaining 2,093 shares valued at approximately $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutions still own 92.17% of NetApp.
• NetApp reported quarterly EPS of $2.03, below the $2.27 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.95 billion exceeded expectations and rose 12.5% year over year. The company also maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a 1.2% yield.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $169.33, despite several firms raising their targets; NetApp recently traded at $173.23.

Caxton Associates LLP trimmed its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 98.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,093 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 142,907 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LLP's holdings in NetApp were worth $214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of NetApp by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in NetApp during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetApp Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $173.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $161.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.08. NetApp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.69 and a 12-month high of $192.83.

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

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.70%.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In other news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.82, for a total transaction of $7,658,016.48. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 46,806 shares in the company, valued at $7,246,504.92. The trade was a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total transaction of $170,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,349,283.24. This represents a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,964 shares of company stock worth $8,181,642. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush boosted their target price on NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their target price on NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetApp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.33.

About NetApp

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NTAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.