NetApp & Pure Storage added to Evercore’s Tactical Outperform list

Evercore ISI added NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:) and Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:) to its Tactical Outperform list, ahead of the companies’ upcoming quarterly earnings reports.

Evercore ISI reiterated its In-Line rating and $80.00 price target on NetApp, expecting the company to beat the Street estimates for Q1 on Aug 23.

“Intra-quarter enterprise and storage data points make us slightly more constructive on the broader storage spend environment. Though the macro environment continues to be challenging and NTAP has struggled vs. peers in the past with customer spend optimization – we think cloud optimization and better federal trends should bode positively for NTAP,” mentioned Evercore.

The firm anticipates in-line to modest upside for revenues and no change to the full 2024-year guidance, though there’s potential for a more constructive tone.

The firm still holds a positive view of NetApp’s commitment to defend margins and earnings through cost initiatives. However, the focus will be on the Cloud ARR guide, considering the difficulties faced in fiscal 2023.

Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and $42.00 price target on Pure Storage. The company is set to report its Q2 results on Aug 30.

“We think Pure is positioned to at minimum meet if not exceed Street expectations ($682M/28c) we think the bias is higher given positive intra-quarter data points. Our checks continue to point to a relatively stable enterprise demand environment and federal sector holding up rather well,” mentioned Evercore.