Insider Selling: NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) EVP Sells 3,000 Shares of Stock

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,161,036. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

NetScout Systems Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NTCT traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 430,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,544. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.10 and a 12-month high of $27.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -4.04 and a beta of 0.60. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $22.76 and its 200 day moving average is $21.65.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NTCT shares. StockNews.com upgraded NetScout Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 1,214.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,367 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 316.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,513 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 811.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 52.4% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.