Network Appliance (NTAP)

[momentum74]

Canaccord Genuity analyst Paul Mansky said the company posted a “solid quarter.”



http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netapp-earnings-jump-72-forecast-weak-2010-11-17

Nov. 17, 2010, 5:17 p.m. EST

NetApp earnings jump on strong data storage demandExplore related topics
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — NetApp Inc. on Wednesday reported a 72% jump in quarterly profit, as the maker of data storage technology got a boost from a big jump in product sales.

But NetApp’s /quotes/comstock/15*!ntap/quotes/nls/ntap (NTAP 50.54, +1.29, +2.62%) report caused a stir late in Wednesday’s regular session, after someone released portions of the results about a hour ahead of the scheduled release after the closing bell. The stock dropped more than 6% in late-afternoon trades before being halted.


“Someone improperly accessed the restricted area of our Web site,” NetApp Chief Financial Officer Steve Gomo said in a phone interview.

The stock was up about 1.8% in after-hours trading.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company posted a fiscal second-quarter profit of $164.6 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with a profit of $95.7 million, or 27 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $1.2 billion, up from $910 million. Adjusted income was 52 cents a share.

Analysts were expecting NetApp to post earnings of 49 cents a share, on revenue of $1.2 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research.



Gomo said NetApp had an “absolutely phenomenal” quarter, adding, “A lot of things went right, and we’re going to take it.”

For the current quarter, the company said it expects revenue in the range of $1.24 billion to $1.29 billion. NetApp also expects adjusted earnings of roughly 48 cents a share to 50 cents a share, and GAAP earnings of 39 cents a share to 41 cents a share.

The company’s non-GAAP outlook suggests a weaker forecast than the current consensus. Analysts had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 51 cents a share, on revenue of $1.26 billion, according to data from FactSet Research.

Canaccord Genuity analyst Paul Mansky said the company posted a “solid quarter.”

The weaker-than-projected non-GAAP earnings was apparently due to an expected increase in NetApp’s share account.

The company projected that share count for the current quarter will increase to approximately 408 million shares, including an estimated 16.9 million shares from the Company’s outstanding convertible notes and 9.9 million shares from outstanding warrants.

Mansky also cited what he described as “a fairly aggressive hiring” during the October quarter.

NetApp is widely considered one of the strong players in the increasingly important data storage market. The company’s shares have gained more than 40% year-to-date — in part due to heavy M&A activity in the sector.