Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C+) Rating for NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a Hold (C+) rating for NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP), indicating a cautious outlook from analysts.
• NetApp's stock currently has a consensus target price of $124.07, with mixed ratings from various analysts, including seven Buy ratings and eleven Hold ratings.
• Insider trading activity shows that CEO George Kurian sold 8,750 shares recently, reflecting a decrease in ownership by 3.08% as insiders sold a total of 28,529 shares worth over $3 million in the last 90 days.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reissued by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on NTAP. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NetApp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $124.07.

NetApp Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $121.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.45. NetApp has a 52-week low of $71.84 and a 52-week high of $135.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $115.22 and a 200 day moving average of $103.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In related news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.91, for a total transaction of $1,075,462.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 274,938 shares in the company, valued at $33,792,629.58. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.67, for a total transaction of $123,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,628 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,074.76. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,529 shares of company stock worth $3,243,874 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetApp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in NetApp by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in NetApp by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,444 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in NetApp by 310.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,771 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,176,000 after buying an additional 18,733 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in NetApp by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,998 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,250,000 after buying an additional 10,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in NetApp by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,910 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NetApp

NetApp, Inc provides cloud-led and data-centric services to manage and share data on-premises, and private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments, Hybrid Cloud and Public Could. The company offers intelligent data management software, such as NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Snapshot, NetApp SnapCenter Backup Management, NetApp SnapMirror Data Replication, NetApp SnapLock Data Compliance, and storage infrastructure solutions, including NetApp All-Flash FAS series, NetApp Fabric Attached Storage, NetApp E/EF series, and NetApp StorageGRID.

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