NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) Short Interest Up 37.2% in February

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, an increase of 37.2% from the February 13th total of 1,560,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 438,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NTCT shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of NetScout Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other news, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total transaction of $72,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,161,036. The trade was a 2.25 % 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 valued at $512,321 over the last 90 days. 3.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,296 shares of the technology company's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,307 shares of the technology company's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 23,968 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetScout Systems Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ NTCT traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $21.72. 183,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,963. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.81. The business's 50-day moving average is $22.73 and its 200-day moving average is $21.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 0.64. NetScout Systems has a twelve month low of $17.10 and a twelve month high of $27.89.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.