NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Shares Down 1% - What's Next?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $20.74 and last traded at $20.72. 44,395 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 532,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded NetScout Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

NetScout Systems Trading Up 1.3 %

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 has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.54 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.75 and a 200-day moving average of $21.88.

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 (EPS) 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, equities research analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In related news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,161,036. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 35,989 shares in the company, valued at $844,661.83. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in NetScout Systems by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 121,495 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 57,239 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in NetScout Systems by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 198,172 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,970 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in NetScout Systems by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,030 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 535.5% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 136,059 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 114,648 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,514 shares of the technology company's stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.