NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Issues Q2 2027 Earnings Guidance

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) issued an update on its second quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.540-2.640 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.080. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.0 billion-$2.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.8 billion. NetApp also updated its FY 2027 guidance to 9.730-10.030 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTAP. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NetApp from $150.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NetApp in a research report on Thursday. Northland Securities increased their price objective on shares of NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NetApp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetApp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.08.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NTAP stock opened at $180.77 on Thursday. NetApp has a 12-month low of $93.69 and a 12-month high of $209.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $35.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.44.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The data storage provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.46. NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 9.730-10.030 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 2.540-2.640 EPS. Analysts expect that NetApp will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.82, for a total transaction of $7,658,016.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 46,806 shares in the company, valued at $7,246,504.92. The trade was a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total value of $193,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,872,164.54. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,072 shares of company stock valued at $8,719,520 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting NetApp

Here are the key news stories impacting NetApp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetApp reported record fiscal Q1 revenue of approximately $2.03 billion, up nearly 30% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS of $2.58 exceeded the roughly $2.12 analyst consensus. All-flash array revenue increased 47% to $1.31 billion, supported by AI and hybrid-cloud demand. NetApp Stock Tanks Despite Strong Q1 Earnings Print
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its fiscal 2027 outlook to approximately $8.0 billion-$8.2 billion in revenue and $9.73-$10.03 in non-GAAP EPS, well above consensus expectations. It also issued Q2 EPS guidance of $2.54-$2.64, ahead of estimates. NetApp Raises Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: NetApp announced new ONTAP capabilities validated for VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 and disclosed the acquisition of AI data-infrastructure company DataPelago, potentially strengthening its position in AI workloads and private cloud. NetApp VMware Cloud Foundation Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: NetApp maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.52 per share, payable October 28 to shareholders of record October 9, implying an annualized yield of about 1.2%.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors reacted negatively to management’s warning that second-quarter gross margin will decline. Non-GAAP gross margin was 70.6% in Q1, while product margins came under sequential pressure from higher component costs and a less favorable product mix. NetApp Warns Gross Margin Will Fall
• Negative Sentiment: Free cash flow fell to approximately $401 million, while operating cash flow was $503 million and inventory increased. The weaker cash conversion raised concerns about execution and valuation after a substantial prior run-up, prompting profit-taking despite the earnings and guidance beats. NetApp Free Cash Flow Decline

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetApp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTAP. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in NetApp by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,842 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NetApp by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,170,157 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $339,492,000 after acquiring an additional 154,490 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of NetApp by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 129,925 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $13,914,000 after acquiring an additional 81,634 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of NetApp by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 46,106 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,824,000. 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.