NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Trading Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) shot up 0.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.07 and last traded at $20.93. 50,390 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 541,252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTCT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

NetScout Systems Stock Up 0.6 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.58 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.81.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NetScout Systems

In other news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,161,036. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $287,016.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,706,955.12. This trade represents 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 90 days. Company insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetScout Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 224,935.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,056,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,736,000 after buying an additional 2,055,913 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in NetScout Systems by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,118,267 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,202,000 after purchasing an additional 448,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in NetScout Systems by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 388,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,410,000 after purchasing an additional 224,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NetScout Systems during the fourth quarter worth $4,480,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in NetScout Systems by 102.9% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 392,566 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,503,000 after purchasing an additional 199,079 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is 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.