NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Stock Price Up 0% - Still a Buy?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 0% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $21.76 and last traded at $21.56. 33,389 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 435,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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 raised 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.66 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total transaction of $152,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 35,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $844,661.83. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted 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 valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. 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.