Trexquant Investment LP Decreases Stock Holdings in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Trexquant Investment LP lessened its stake in shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 157,629 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 30,750 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in NetScout Systems were worth $3,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 4.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,975,000 after purchasing an additional 81,154 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,507 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 28,583 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in NetScout Systems during the third quarter valued at $1,783,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,251,156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,100,000 after acquiring an additional 85,713 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 43,148 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NTCT. StockNews.com raised shares of NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,036. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

NetScout Systems Stock Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ NTCT opened at $19.31 on Monday. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $27.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.30 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. NetScout Systems had a negative net margin of 50.90% and a positive return on equity of 6.76%. On average, equities research analysts predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.