Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $14.87 Million in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group bought a new NetApp position in Q4, purchasing 138,845 shares valued at about $14.87 million and taking roughly 0.07% ownership.
• NetApp reported better-than-expected fiscal Q4 results, posting EPS of $2.12 versus $2.07 expected and revenue of $1.71 billion, up 4.4% year over year. The company also issued Q4 2026 and FY 2026 guidance above current analyst expectations.
• Analysts remain cautious overall, with several recent downgrades and a consensus rating of Hold with a price target of $122.27. NetApp also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.52, or $2.08 annually, for a 1.5% yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 138,845 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,869,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of NetApp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTAP. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its stake in NetApp by 105.5% during the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 224 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NetApp by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in NetApp during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetApp Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $139.36 on Monday. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.69 and a 52 week high of $141.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's fifty day moving average is $107.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.73.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.05. NetApp had a return on equity of 118.11% and a net margin of 18.07%.The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts expect that NetApp, Inc. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered NetApp from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered NetApp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup lowered NetApp from a "neutral" rating to a "mixed" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NetApp news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,164,112.86. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $33,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 3,275 shares of company stock worth $347,650 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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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