NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised NetScout Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NTCT traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.68. 599,412 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 656,248. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.57 and a 200-day moving average of $33.52. NetScout Systems has a 52 week low of $20.39 and a 52 week high of $45.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60 and a beta of 0.68.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $203.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.64 million. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 11.11%.The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alfred Grasso sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.67, for a total transaction of $203,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,450. The trade was a 12.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Downing sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.29, for a total transaction of $322,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 129,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,202,285.09. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 3.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetScout Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTCT. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,587 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 6.2% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,552 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NetScout Systems

NetScout Systems, Inc is a leading provider of network performance management, service assurance and cybersecurity solutions. The company designs and delivers hardware and software platforms that capture and analyze real-time and historical packet data, enabling IT teams and service providers to monitor application performance, troubleshoot network issues and defend against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. NetScout’s flagship offerings include the nGeniusONE service assurance platform and the InfiniStream packet broker, which together provide end-to-end visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, NetScout has built a reputation for scalable and resilient monitoring infrastructure.