NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $169.3333.

NTAP has been the topic of several research reports. Northland Securities upped their price objective on NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Argus upped their price target on NetApp from $130.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th.

NetApp Price Performance

NTAP opened at $178.50 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.88 and a 200-day moving average of $125.07. The company has a market capitalization of $35.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.45. NetApp has a 1-year low of $93.69 and a 1-year high of $192.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last issued 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 company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. 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 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio is 32.70%.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total transaction of $170,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,349,283.24. This represents a 3.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $33,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,800. This trade represents a 20.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock worth $8,181,642. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetApp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTAP. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its stake in NetApp by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in NetApp by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in NetApp by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in NetApp by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,559 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.