NetApp Slides as Investors Weigh Margin Pressure Despite Strong Quarter

NetApp (NTAP) is down 8.7% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The selloff appears tied less to the headline results and more to investor caution around profitability and cash conversion after a very strong run into earnings. NetApp posted record first-quarter revenue, beat its prior outlook, and raised full-year guidance, but sequential pressure on product gross margin, lower free cash flow, and expectations that were already elevated may have led traders to take profits.

Details:

NetApp’s September 2 earnings release showed first-quarter revenue rose 30% year over year to $2.03 billion, while non-GAAP earnings per share climbed to $2.58, both above the company’s earlier guidance range.

The company raised its full-year fiscal 2027 outlook, projecting revenue of $7.98 billion to $8.23 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $9.73 to $10.03, signaling continued demand tied to AI and hybrid cloud spending.

Even with the strong quarter, non-GAAP gross margin was 70.6%, down from a year earlier, and product gross margin fell sequentially as component costs increased and product mix became a larger share of revenue.

Cash generation also softened from the prior-year quarter, with operating cash flow of $503 million and free cash flow of $401 million, while inventory expanded quarter over quarter. This could be because investors focused on execution risks beneath an otherwise strong top-line story.

Sources:

NetApp, SEC, MarketBeat

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$NTAP Insider Trading Activity

$NTAP insiders have traded $NTAP stock on the open market 16 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 16 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $NTAP stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

CESAR CERNUDA (President) has made 0 purchases and 8 sales selling 52,072 shares for an estimated $8,191,170.
GERALD HELD sold 7,132 shares for an estimated $1,283,760
ELIZABETH M O'CALLAHAN (EVP, Chief Admin. Officer) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 6,000 shares for an estimated $842,870.
LORENZO DANIEL DE (VP, Controller & CAO) sold 275 shares for an estimated $33,000

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$NTAP Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 491 institutional investors add shares of $NTAP stock to their portfolio, and 506 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

JANE STREET GROUP, LLC added 2,380,592 shares (+28401.2%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $368,420,417
CITIGROUP INC removed 1,765,740 shares (-46.8%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $273,265,922
BEUTEL, GOODMAN & CO LTD. removed 1,717,086 shares (-47.1%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $265,736,229
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO added 1,580,284 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $244,564,751
SIXTH STREET PARTNERS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.P. added 1,355,607 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $209,793,739
AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC removed 1,323,487 shares (-22.1%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $204,822,848
BLACKROCK, INC. removed 1,006,506 shares (-5.1%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $155,766,868

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$NTAP Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $NTAP recently. We have seen 11 analysts offer price targets for $NTAP in the last 6 months, with a median target of $170.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Jim Kelleher from Argus Research set a target price of $200.0 on 06/01/2026
Erik Woodring from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $137.0 on 05/29/2026
Mehdi Hosseini from Susquehanna set a target price of $185.0 on 05/29/2026
Matt Bryson from Wedbush set a target price of $150.0 on 05/29/2026
Nehal Chokshi from Northland Capital Markets set a target price of $171.0 on 05/29/2026
Aaron Rakers from Wells Fargo set a target price of $180.0 on 05/29/2026
Amit Daryanani from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $170.0 on 05/29/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.