NetApp, the maker of data-storage products, rose in extended trading Wednesday after it reported second-quarter profit that beat estimates and said it was expanding a share repurchase program by $1.5 billion.
The shares of Sunnyvale, California-based NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP) gained as much as 12 percent to $30.40 after the report was published. Earlier, they had gained 3 percent to close at $27.12 in New York. The stock is down 25 percent this year.
NetApp operates one of its largest campuses in RTP.
“NetApp produced healthy financial results in the second quarter with revenue roughly at the midpoint of and EPS above our guidance range, despite a difficult environment,” said NetApp Chief Executive Officer Tom Georgens.
“We saw a strong uptake of NetApp Data ONTAP 8 and clustered Data ONTAP, as customers are looking to build agile data infrastructure environments with intelligent data management, nearly unlimited scalability, and nondisruptive operations.
“We also saw momentum in our partnering strategy with continued FlexPod growth and a record high revenue contribution from Arrow and Avnet. Our focus on delivering best-of-breed storage solutions and the leverage we gain through go-to-market and channel partners will enable NetApp to grow our business and gain share.”
Earnings excluding some items for the fiscal second quarter, which ended Oct. 26, were 51 cents a share, the company said in a statement. That topped analysts’ average projection of 48 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
NetApp forecast third-quarter profit of 53 cents to 58 cents a share, compared with a 54-cent average estimate.
NetApp also said it agreed to buy CacheIQ Inc., a closely held storage solutions company based in Austin, Texas. Terms weren’t disclosed.
(Bloomberg news contributed to this report.)
