NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on NetApp to $180 from $115, while keeping an equal weight rating. Even so, the new target implies a slight downside from the current share price.
• NetApp jumped 29.6% to $184.53 after the company reported fiscal Q4 revenue of $1.95 billion, which topped estimates, and issued FY2027 guidance above Wall Street expectations.
• The earnings report was mixed overall: NetApp missed EPS estimates for the quarter, and analysts remain split, with the stock carrying a Hold consensus and an average price target of $145.75.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $115.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential downside of 2.45% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NetApp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of NetApp from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NetApp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.75.

NetApp Stock Up 29.6%

NTAP traded up $42.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $184.53. 4,602,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,514,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.48. NetApp has a twelve month low of $93.69 and a twelve month high of $192.83. The stock has a market cap of $36.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.28.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.24). NetApp had a return on equity of 118.11% and a net margin of 18.07%.The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. The company'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 expect that NetApp will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $33,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,800. The trade was a 20.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,164,112.86. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,275 shares of company stock valued at $347,650. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetApp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTAP. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,091,499,000 after buying an additional 115,451 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter valued at $458,060,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of NetApp by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,127,533 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $442,018,000 after acquiring an additional 611,003 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of NetApp by 127.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,658,066 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $374,549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046,912 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NetApp News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NetApp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetApp posted fiscal Q4 revenue of $1.95 billion, above estimates, and management guided FY2027 EPS and revenue ahead of Wall Street expectations, reinforcing the view that demand remains strong. NetApp surges on strong Q4 results, guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised price targets after the report, including Wedbush, Susquehanna, and Northland, suggesting Wall Street sees more upside despite mixed ratings. Replimune, Dell Technologies, NetApp And Other Big Stocks Moving Higher on Friday
• Positive Sentiment: NetApp also announced a new $1 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend, both of which can support the stock by returning capital to shareholders. NetApp Announces New $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts kept neutral or hold views, noting strong execution but also pointing to valuation and margin headwinds, which may limit upside if growth slows. Wamsi Mohan Reiterates Hold on NetApp, Lifts Price Target to $150 Amid Strong Execution but Valuation and Margin Headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the strong revenue beat, NetApp missed EPS estimates in the quarter, and some analysts still see downside relative to the recently elevated share price. NetApp earnings report and transcript

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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