UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Downgrades NetApp to Neutral, Lowers PT on Weakening Demand, Increasing Competitive Pressure

In a report published Monday, Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew J. Nowinski downgraded the rating on

from Overweight to Neutral, and lowered the price target from $45.00 to $38.00. In the report, Piper Jaffray noted, “We are downgrading shares of NTAP to Neutral and lowering our price target to $38 (previously $45). Near term, we believe demand weakened, primarily in the U.S. Federal sector, though we also noted some softness in the enterprise market. Longer term, we believe EMC's new VNX2 has narrowed the gap with NetApp across a number of features (snapshots, tiering and replication). Given the relatively weak demand environment, coupled with increasing competitive headwinds, we see limited opportunity for upside to estimates going forward and would not be surprised if consensus estimates are reduced following the company's upcoming earnings call in November 13. Therefore, we are lowering our rating to Neutral and price target to $38.” NetApp closed on Friday at $39.14.