NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $124.3333.

NTAP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NetApp from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of NetApp in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on NetApp from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on NetApp from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $103.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.39. NetApp has a twelve month low of $71.84 and a twelve month high of $127.78. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $107.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.65.

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

NetApp Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.48, for a total transaction of $35,145.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $105,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,201.75. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,654 shares of company stock valued at $175,782 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetApp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTAP. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 545,194 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $58,385,000 after acquiring an additional 29,186 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP acquired a new stake in NetApp during the fourth quarter worth about $3,875,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in NetApp by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Cypress Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NetApp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 21,109 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $103,000. 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.