NetApp (NTAP) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts

NetApp (NTAP) closed the most recent trading day at $167.77, moving +1.9% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.05%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.46%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.64%.

Heading into today, shares of the data storage company had gained 6.5% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 3.62% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.61%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of NetApp in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.11, signifying a 36.13% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $1.83 billion, indicating a 17.61% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.88 per share and a revenue of $7.49 billion, representing changes of +9.23% and +8.14%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for NetApp. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. NetApp is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Digging into valuation, NetApp currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.55. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.5, which means NetApp is trading at a premium to the group.

Also, we should mention that NTAP has a PEG ratio of 2.43. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Computer- Storage Devices industry stood at 1.37 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 23, placing it within the top 10% of over 250 industries.

Story Continues

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

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NetApp, Inc. (NTAP) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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