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To: Dealer who wrote (32152)	9/7/2000 12:54:28 PM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 35685

NTAP--Network Appliance's Stock Hits the Afterburner By Thomas Lepri Staff Reporter 9/7/00 12:13 PM ET Network Appliance's (NTAP:Nasdaq - news) stock on Thursday was resuming the parabolic trajectory to which many of its investors have become very well accustomed. The maker of network-attached storage, or NAS, products has long been one of the market's hottest stocks, gaining more than 1,500% in the past two years. And by noon, Net App was up 10.50, or 10%, to 112.13. Two traders, holding a total of more than 5 million shares of NTAP between them, said they weren't aware of any big news behind the move. The company didn't immediately return a call for comment. The most likely explanation for the stock action is bullishness coming out of CEO Dan Warmenhoven's presentation at the Credit Suisse First Boston Communications Conference Wednesday. Warmenhoven had claimed that by 2003, the NAS market could be larger than the $6 billion figure that industry analysts have been bandying about this year. In a note this morning, First Boston analyst Amit Chopra wrote that Net App will introduce its next-generation storage filers next week. (First Boston hasn't performed recent underwriting for Network Appliance.) Unlike the server-attached storage, or SAS, model, NAS detaches data-storage devices from the servers that run applications for a network's work stations. Net App's boosters say putting storage devices directly on a network helps alleviate bottlenecks and allows technology managers to add new storage capacity easily by attaching additional appliances to the existing network. Also on Wednesday Prudential analyst Kim Alexy reiterated her strong buy rating and 12-month target of 135.50. On Tuesday, Net App agreed to acquire privately held WebManage Technologies, a developer of content distribution software, for $75 million in stock and cash. (Prudential hasn't performed recent underwriting for Network Appliance.) Send letters to the editor to letters@thestreet.com.