Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Holdings in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 17.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,860,019 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 810,702 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.97% of NetApp worth $597,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in NetApp during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,925,168,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in shares of NetApp in the 2nd quarter worth $1,395,423,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at about $458,060,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in NetApp by 127.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,658,066 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $374,549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the second quarter valued at about $258,093,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Stock Performance

NTAP opened at $187.02 on Friday. NetApp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.69 and a 52-week high of $209.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $175.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.03.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of NetApp from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $137.00 to $173.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NetApp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of NetApp in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In other 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 sale, the president directly owned 46,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,246,504.92. The trade was a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total transaction of $193,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,872,164.54. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,297 shares of company stock worth $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.