NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Shares Up 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) shot up 1.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $20.87 and last traded at $20.79. 51,737 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 530,433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NTCT. StockNews.com upgraded 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 price objective on NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.54 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In related news, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,706,955.12. The trade was a 14.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $152,555.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 35,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,661.83. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in 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 period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,296 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,307 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,606 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

About NetScout Systems

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.