NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Shares Down 0.1% - What's Next?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $21.33 and last traded at $21.83. Approximately 48,387 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 436,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTCT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

NetScout Systems Stock 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's 50-day moving average price is $22.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.89. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.66 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NetScout Systems news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $152,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,989 shares in the company, valued at $844,661.83. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,706,955.12. The trade was a 14.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321 over the last ninety days. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 316.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,513 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 32.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 811.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.