NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Shares Down 1.9% – What’s Next?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) was down 1.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $22.04 and last traded at $22.07. Approximately 129,407 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 429,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NTCT. StockNews.com raised shares of NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Stock Down 3.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -3.70 and a beta of 0.60.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. NetScout Systems had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 50.90%. Analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,161,036. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,706,955.12. The trade was a 14.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321. Company insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 1,214.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,367 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 316.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,513 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 811.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NetScout Systems Company Profile

NetScout Systems, Inc provides service assurance and cybersecurity solutions for protect digital business services against disruptions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers nGeniusONE management software that enables customers to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems, as well as facilitate the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures; and specialized platforms and analytic modules that enable its customers to analyze and troubleshoot traffic in radio access and Wi-Fi networks.