NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded NetApp from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a consensus price target of $169.33.
• NetApp shares opened at $174.53, near the consensus target, after reaching a 52-week high of $192.83; the stock has a market capitalization of approximately $34.25 billion.
• In its latest quarter, NetApp reported revenue of $1.95 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $2.03 missed expectations of $2.27. Insiders sold $8.18 million of stock during the last quarter.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised NetApp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.33.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $174.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.39. NetApp has a fifty-two week low of $93.69 and a fifty-two week high of $192.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $160.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.61. The company has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.46.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. NetApp's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. Analysts expect that NetApp will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $33,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at $130,800. This represents a 20.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total transaction of $170,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,349,283.24. This represents a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,181,642 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetApp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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