NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Stock Price Down 1% – What’s Next?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)’s stock price traded down 1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $21.07 and last traded at $21.23. 141,018 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 498,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTCT. StockNews.com upgraded 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 target on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.65 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetScout Systems

In other news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $152,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,661.83. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,706,955.12. This represents a 14.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321 in the last 90 days. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetScout Systems

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTCT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 316.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,513 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 32.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 811.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in NetScout Systems by 52.4% during the third 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. 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.