In the latest trading session, NetApp (NTAP) closed at $115.91, marking a -1.09% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.23%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.34%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.8%.
The stock of data storage company has fallen by 1.16% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.04% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.57%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of NetApp in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.89, up 1.07% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.69 billion, up 1.68% from the prior-year quarter.
NTAP's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.77 per share and revenue of $6.76 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +7.17% and +2.85%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for NetApp. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. NetApp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, NetApp is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.09. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.99.
Also, we should mention that NTAP has a PEG ratio of 2.06. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computer- Storage Devices industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.06.
The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 36, positioning it in the top 15% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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NetApp, Inc. (NTAP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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