RBC Capital analyst Amit Daryanani reiterated an Outperform rating and $38 price target on NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) following "impressive" results and guidance versus very muted expectations.

The analyst noted much of the upside came from depletion of deferred revenues (boosted software/maintenance revenues).

He added,"Furthermore, NTAP’s Oct-qtr guide implies sales will grow 8.5% q/q (with product growth pegged to grow 20% q/q), well ahead of historical trends (Federal budget flush should help). New CEO (Mr. Kurian) acknowledged the challenges NTAP is facing given a portfolio that is skewed towards legacy assets but assured investors to have a better road-map by the next EPS call around portfolio strategy, cost cutting and levers to improve shareholder value."

The analyst also noted that FCF was rather disappointing this quarter at $91M. Net/net – the print was better than feared, but not enough to make believers out of skeptics who will wait for the next EPS call to get a better sense of NTAP’s future strategy.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on NetApp click here. For more ratings news on NetApp click here.

Shares of NetApp closed at $29.78 yesterday.