NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Updates Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) updated its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.210-2.310 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.080. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.8 billion-$1.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.8 billion. NetApp also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 7.920-8.020 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTAP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on NetApp from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NetApp in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of NetApp from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.21.

NetApp Price Performance

NetApp stock traded down $2.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $99.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,815,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,811. NetApp has a 12 month low of $71.84 and a 12 month high of $126.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $19.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $103.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.40.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 121.28%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. The business’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 anticipate that NetApp will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.45, for a total transaction of $103,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,076,758.75. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

NetApp News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NetApp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and official materials: NetApp posted EPS of $2.12 vs. the consensus ~$2.07 and revenue ~$1.71B, narrowly ahead of estimates; the company filed the press release and slide deck with details. This is the immediate fundamental driver behind upside in expectations. View Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY‑2026 and Q4 guidance: NetApp lifted FY EPS to $7.920–8.020 (consensus ~7.29) and issued Q4 EPS $2.21–2.31 (vs. ~2.08 est), with revenue bands modestly above/inline — a clear beat-and-raise signal for the year. View Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Contextual metrics and analyst notes: Zacks and other coverage break down key Q3 metrics vs. estimates and year-ago figures — useful for modeling but not market-moving by itself. Compared to Estimates, NetApp (NTAP) Q3 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic angle — AI-focused cloud subscriptions: Coverage is questioning whether NetApp’s pivot toward AI-focused cloud/subscriptions changes the investment case; this is strategic upside but with timing and margin conversion uncertainty. Is NetApp’s Shift Toward AI-Focused Cloud Subscriptions Altering The Investment Case For NetApp (NTAP)?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst tone mixed but not bearish: Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating with a $115 target (implies upside from current levels) and argued some pre-earnings pessimism was overdone — supports buy-side patience but not a strong catalyst. Wedbush neutral rating / commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/sector pressure: Comparative pieces highlight Seagate (STX) as capturing stronger AI-driven demand and momentum — an investor concern that NetApp may face tougher competitive and growth comparisons in storage/AI hardware spending cycles. Seagate vs. NetApp

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetApp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 94.6% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,823,292 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $215,987,000 after purchasing an additional 886,485 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NetApp by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,849,218 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $219,058,000 after acquiring an additional 771,835 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 worth $582,296,000 after acquiring an additional 718,409 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in NetApp by 83.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,544,513 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $164,568,000 after acquiring an additional 700,467 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.