NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) Short Interest Up 16.3% in August

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, an increase of 16.3% from the August 15th total of 1,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 741,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jean A. Bua sold 19,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.37, for a total value of $391,205.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,601,041.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jean A. Bua sold 19,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.37, for a total value of $391,205.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 78,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,041.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Downing sold 4,247 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $84,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 131,590 shares in the company, valued at $2,631,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,952 shares of company stock worth $598,411 over the last 90 days. 3.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTCT. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in NetScout Systems by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 306.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTCT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of NetScout Systems in a report on Friday, July 26th.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ NTCT traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $19.82. The company had a trading volume of 398,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,426. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 0.58. NetScout Systems has a 12-month low of $17.10 and a 12-month high of $28.58.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The technology company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.16. NetScout Systems had a negative net margin of 74.02% and a positive return on equity of 5.35%. The business had revenue of $174.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 1.39 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.