Oppenheimer initiates NetApp stock coverage with Perform rating

Investing.com - Oppenheimer has initiated coverage of NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) with a Perform rating on Monday, citing the data storage provider’s ability to gain market share while facing near-term growth challenges. According to InvestingPro data, NetApp currently trades at a P/E ratio of 19.4 with analysts expecting the company to report earnings in 8 days on November 25.

The research firm noted that NetApp, a leading provider of data storage solutions, has the potential to continue gaining share in All-Flash-Arrays (AFA) from competitors such as Dell and HP Enterprise. InvestingPro identifies NetApp as a "prominent player in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry" with a solid financial health rating of "GOOD" based on its comprehensive analysis.

Despite this competitive advantage, Oppenheimer identified several short-term growth obstacles, particularly within the US Public Sector due to budget delays and softness in European markets including the UK, Ireland, and Germany.

The firm also pointed out that growth in Public Cloud has only recently begun to recover, stating it would need to observe "another quarter or two of continued high-teens growth" before adopting a more positive outlook on the stock.

Oppenheimer expects NetApp will require multiple quarters to return to mid-single-digit growth, which is keeping the research firm "sidelined for now" with its neutral Perform rating. While Oppenheimer maintains a cautious stance, InvestingPro data shows NetApp is currently trading slightly below its Fair Value, with the company maintaining dividend payments for 13 consecutive years and offering a current dividend yield of 1.9%. Discover 10+ additional exclusive insights about NetApp through InvestingPro’s comprehensive research reports.

In other recent news, NetApp has made significant announcements at its INSIGHT 2025 conference in Las Vegas, focusing on artificial intelligence and cloud transformations. The company introduced the NetApp AFX series, a disaggregated storage platform certified by NVIDIA DGX SuperPod, aimed at AI workloads, allowing customers to scale performance and capacity independently. This move positions NetApp strongly within the AI infrastructure market. Additionally, NetApp unveiled new cyber resilience features, including first-in-industry data breach detection for enterprise storage and isolated recovery environments for critical data. The enhanced NetApp Ransomware Resilience service now includes AI-powered detection capabilities to identify potential data breaches. In collaboration news, NetApp has partnered with Cisco to integrate its AFX architecture with Cisco Nexus switches, enhancing AI networking infrastructure with high-bandwidth and low-latency capabilities. Analyst firms have responded to these developments, with UBS reiterating a Neutral rating and Evercore ISI raising its price target to $115, maintaining an "In Line" rating. These updates reflect NetApp’s strategic focus on AI and cybersecurity advancements.

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