NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.9286.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NTAP. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of NetApp in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NetApp in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NetApp from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of NetApp in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of NetApp from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th.

NetApp Stock Up 4.3%

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $102.42 on Monday. NetApp has a 1-year low of $71.84 and a 1-year high of $127.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.94 and a 200 day moving average of $111.57. The firm has a market cap of $20.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The data storage provider reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.17. NetApp had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 121.28%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. NetApp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.050 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.110 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NetApp will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.17%.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In other NetApp news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.45, for a total value of $103,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,076,758.75. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetApp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in NetApp by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,728,118 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,954,431,000 after purchasing an additional 686,188 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of NetApp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,091,499,000 after buying an additional 115,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NetApp by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,112,316 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $756,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,626 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NetApp during the 4th quarter worth about $458,060,000. 92.17% of the stock is 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.