NetApp on Nov. 17 reported a rather healthy 72 percent jump in quarterly profit — not revenue, mind you — profit.
But the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based storage maker report caused a ruckus late in the day’s regular session after someone accessed a restricted section of the company Web site and released portions of the results about a hour ahead of the scheduled release after the closing bell at 1 p.m. Pacific time.
The stock dropped more than 6 percent in late-afternoon trades before being halted. When after-hours trading resumed, the price was up about 2 percent and then kept moving up. The stock closed at $53.12 on Nov. 18 — up nearly 8 percent on the day.
NetApp, which has been gaining reputation and marketshare steadily for more than two years, has seen its stock price gain more than 40 percent in the last year.
This week the company posted a fiscal second-quarter profit of $164.6 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with a profit of $95.7 million, or 27 cents, for the YOY period. Revenue was $1.2 billion, up from $910 million.
Congrats are in order for a job well done. They’d better take a closer look at that Web security, though.