NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Lowered to "Buy" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen lowered NetApp from a “strong-buy” to a “buy,” while the broader analyst view remains cautious: the stock currently carries a consensus Hold rating with a consensus price target of $169.33.
• NetApp shares were down 1.4% and opened at $152.45. The company has a market cap of about $29.87 billion and is trading well above its 200-day moving average of $115.41.
• In its latest earnings report, NetApp beat revenue expectations with $1.95 billion in sales, but missed EPS estimates at $2.03 versus $2.27 expected. Revenue still rose 12.5% year over year, even as insiders recently sold shares.

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Susquehanna raised their target price on NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.33.

NetApp Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $152.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.41. NetApp has a 1 year low of $93.69 and a 1 year high of $192.83. The stock has a market cap of $29.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.45.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts predict that NetApp will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.48, for a total value of $163,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,279,913.56. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.09, for a total value of $38,495.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $186,488.10. The trade was a 17.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,106,972 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetApp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at about $458,060,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of NetApp by 127.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,658,066 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $374,549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046,912 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of NetApp by 378.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of NetApp by 94.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,823,292 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $215,987,000 after purchasing an additional 886,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in NetApp in the 1st quarter valued at about $89,977,000. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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