Baird analyst Jayson Noland upgraded NetApp (NTAP) to Outperform saying an attractive situation is lined up for the company amid low investor sentiment and reports of industry consolidation. NetApp could be viewed as a key asset with EMC (EMC) and Dell potentially merging and Juniper (JNPR) reportedly hiring bankers to sell the company, Noland tells investors in a research note. Further, his field work indicates NetApp is viewed as the number two best positioned legacy storage provider behind EMC. Noland raised his price target for shares to $40 from $35. NetApp closed Friday up 89c to $33.16.

Bearish flow noted in NetApp with 1,299 puts trading, or 2x expected. Most active are 4/26 weekly 98 puts and 4/26 weekly 97 puts, with total volume in those strikes near 830 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 2.39, while ATM IV is up over 1 point on the day. Earnings are expected on May 30th.