Summit Research: Sell NetApp

In a report published Monday, Summit Research analyst Srini Nandury downgraded the rating on

from Hold to Sell, while reducing the price target from $32 to $28. The analyst said that the company's revenue growth was likely to "remain elusive" for "an extended period." Revenue growth could be challenged in the near term in view of "the storage industry dynamics and the Cluster ONTAP product transition," analyst Srini Nandury said. Although the company had reduced its FY16 estimates, there could be another reduction on account of "weaker storage spending and continued problems with getting NetApp's customers to upgrade to Cluster ONTAP." NetApp had suffered a 20bps share loss last year, according to IDC, and its share loss may accelerate this year, Nandury said, while adding that the company's share loss could ease "somewhat" in 2016. Nandury expects the company's revenue to decline by about 6 percent in FY16, following a decline of about 3 percent in FY15. Revenue could grow modestly in FY17, by an estimated 1.3 percent, as compared to storage growth of more than 2 percent. The EPS estimates for FY16 and FY17 have been reduced from $2.20 to $2.08 and from $2.50 to $2.33, respectively.