The most recent trading session ended with NetApp (NTAP) standing at $82.45, reflecting a +0.94% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.51%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 2.66%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.71%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the data storage company had lost 14.13% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 12.18% and the S&P 500's loss of 8.86% in that time.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of NetApp in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.89, showcasing a 5% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $1.73 billion, indicating a 3.45% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $7.23 per share and a revenue of $6.57 billion, indicating changes of +11.92% and +4.75%, respectively, from the former year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for NetApp. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Right now, NetApp possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, NetApp is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.3. This indicates no noticeable deviation in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 11.3.
Also, we should mention that NTAP has a PEG ratio of 1.32. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. NTAP's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.39 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 33, this industry ranks in the top 14% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the 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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