NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) Short Interest Update

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,800,000 shares, a drop of 18.9% from the March 15th total of 2,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 471,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NetScout Systems stock traded up $0.42 on Thursday, reaching $21.04. The company had a trading volume of 442,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,699. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $21.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.81. NetScout Systems has a 52-week low of $17.10 and a 52-week high of $27.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -3.59 and a beta of 0.66.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NetScout Systems news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of NetScout Systems 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $72,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,161,036. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321. 3.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTCT. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 32.1% in the 3rd 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 17.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in NetScout Systems by 5.4% in the fourth 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. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 23,968 shares of the technology company's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,030 shares of the technology company's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in 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.