NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,220,000 shares, a decline of 21.4% from the February 28th total of 7,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

NetApp Stock Performance

NetApp stock opened at $88.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. NetApp has a 12-month low of $86.95 and a 12-month high of $135.45.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. NetApp’s payout ratio is 38.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on NetApp from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of NetApp from $132.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of NetApp in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of NetApp from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of NetApp from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.07.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.79, for a total transaction of $52,672.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,063.95. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.04, for a total transaction of $1,011,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 266,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,755,705.60. The trade was a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,931 shares of company stock worth $3,722,979. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NetApp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTAP. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in NetApp by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 12,794 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter valued at $395,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management boosted its holdings in NetApp by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 68,897 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $7,998,000 after acquiring an additional 37,684 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in NetApp by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,346,212 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $156,268,000 after purchasing an additional 113,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in NetApp by 232.2% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,731 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

About NetApp

NetApp, Inc provides cloud-led and data-centric services to manage and share data on-premises, and private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments, Hybrid Cloud and Public Could. The company offers intelligent data management software, such as NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Snapshot, NetApp SnapCenter Backup Management, NetApp SnapMirror Data Replication, NetApp SnapLock Data Compliance, and storage infrastructure solutions, including NetApp All-Flash FAS series, NetApp Fabric Attached Storage, NetApp E/EF series, and NetApp StorageGRID.