Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $2.24 Million Investment in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,447 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,236,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTAP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $458,060,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of NetApp by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 262,732 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $28,136,000 after purchasing an additional 135,715 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 180,917 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $19,374,000 after purchasing an additional 21,643 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in NetApp by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 97,086 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $10,397,000 after purchasing an additional 17,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in NetApp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NTAP stock opened at $187.02 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.03. NetApp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.69 and a 1 year high of $209.06.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.NetApp’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NTAP. Wedbush lifted their target price on NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NetApp from $150.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Evercore set a $210.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.77.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,872,164.54. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 2,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.48, for a total transaction of $533,283.84. Following the sale, the president directly owned 46,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,514,454.40. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,297 shares of company stock valued at $8,758,016. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NetApp 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.