NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded NetApp from “buy” to “strong-buy,” though the broader analyst view remains cautious with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.33.
• NetApp reported Q4 revenue of $1.95 billion, beating estimates, but earnings per share of $2.03 came in below expectations. Revenue rose 12.5% year over year, and the company issued FY2027 and Q1 2027 EPS guidance.
• Shares opened at $154.17, trading above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while institutional ownership remains high at 92.17%. Insiders have also been selling stock recently, including the CAO and EVP.

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NTAP. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Argus upped their target price on shares of NetApp from $130.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of NetApp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Five equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.33.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $154.17 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $142.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.71. 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 company has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.46. NetApp has a 12 month low of $93.69 and a 12 month high of $192.83.

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). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The firm's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NetApp will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In other NetApp news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $186,488.10. This trade represents a 17.11% 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 that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.48, for a total value of $163,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,279,913.56. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,106,972. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetApp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTAP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of NetApp by 378.9% during the first 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in 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 bought a new stake in NetApp in the 1st quarter valued at $89,977,000. 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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