NetApp Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

NetApp (NAS: NTAP) reported earnings on Feb. 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Jan. 25 (Q3), NetApp met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
 NetApp booked revenue of $1.63 billion. The 32 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $1.63 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.67. The 35 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.56 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.43 for Q3 were 34% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.32 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 59.2%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.6%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.7%, 210 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.75 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.65.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $6.36 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.15.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 560 members out of 636 rating the stock outperform, and 76 members rating it underperform. Among 163 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 147 give NetApp a green thumbs-up, and 16 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on NetApp is outperform, with an average price target of $36.51.

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The article NetApp Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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