Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) Stock Price

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $88.00 to $137.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NTAP. Bank of America upped their price target on NetApp from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut NetApp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut NetApp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 19th. Weiss Ratings cut NetApp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut NetApp from a “neutral” rating to a “mixed” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NetApp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.50.

NetApp Stock Up 22.4%

NTAP opened at $174.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.95. The company has a market cap of $34.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.28. 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 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.39.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 126.01% and a net margin of 18.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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. Sell-side analysts expect that NetApp will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $33,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at $130,800. This trade represents a 20.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,164,112.86. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,275 shares of company stock worth $347,650 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetApp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTAP. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in NetApp by 38.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the second quarter valued at $315,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 9.9% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 46,792 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after purchasing an additional 4,232 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 7.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,301 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 12.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,161 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting NetApp

Here are the key news stories impacting NetApp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetApp reported fiscal Q4 revenue of $1.95 billion, topping estimates and rising 12.5% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS came in at $2.43, also above expectations. NetApp Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued FY2027 guidance above Wall Street estimates, pointing to revenue of about $7.3 billion-$7.6 billion and EPS of $8.70-$9.00, which supports optimism for continued growth and margin expansion. Why NetApp Stock Soared 35% Friday Morning
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts sharply lifted price targets after the report, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wedbush, Susquehanna, Northland, and Wells Fargo, signaling that the earnings beat may lead to higher estimates even if several firms kept neutral or hold-type ratings. Analyst price target updates
• Positive Sentiment: NetApp also announced a quarterly dividend and a new $1 billion share repurchase program, adding to shareholder returns and potentially supporting the stock. NetApp Announces New $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program

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.