NetApp Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Key Points

• NetApp saw unusually high options activity on Monday, with 3,657 call options traded — about 167% above its average call volume.
• The stock rose 0.9% to $119.08, while trading volume remained below average; the shares are near their 52-week high of $126.66.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed to cautious, with several recent downgrades and an overall consensus rating of “Hold,” despite NetApp’s recent earnings beat and a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 3,657 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 167% compared to the average volume of 1,369 call options.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In other NetApp news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $96,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,517.50. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $300,370 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetApp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTAP. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in NetApp by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 432,772 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $51,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,089 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in NetApp by 216.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $109,875,000 after purchasing an additional 634,085 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in NetApp by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 159,274 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $18,868,000 after purchasing an additional 32,833 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its stake in NetApp by 496.7% in the 3rd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 18,168 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,152,000 after purchasing an additional 15,123 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in NetApp by 515.1% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 115,757 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $13,713,000 after purchasing an additional 96,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

NetApp Stock Up 0.9%

NetApp stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $119.08. 337,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,314,186. The business's 50 day moving average is $102.98 and its 200 day moving average is $106.38. NetApp has a 52 week low of $93.69 and a 52 week high of $126.66. The company has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The data storage provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.05. NetApp had a return on equity of 118.11% and a net margin of 18.07%.The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. NetApp's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. NetApp has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.210-2.310 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.920-8.020 EPS. Analysts predict that NetApp will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is 34.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTAP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered NetApp from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered NetApp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of NetApp in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on NetApp from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.64.

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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