NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Trading 1% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) shot up 1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.13 and last traded at $21.21. 42,628 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 454,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

NetScout Systems Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.67 and a 200 day moving average of $21.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -3.60 and a beta of 0.64.

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, 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NetScout Systems news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,161,036. The trade was a 2.25 % 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,118,267 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,202,000 after purchasing an additional 448,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 388,286 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,410,000 after buying an additional 224,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $4,480,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 102.9% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 392,566 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,503,000 after buying an additional 199,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 205.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 257,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 173,400 shares during the period. 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.