NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Shares Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)’s stock price rose 0.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.99 and last traded at $21.97. Approximately 28,867 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 503,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on NTCT. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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 raised shares of NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

NetScout Systems Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts expect that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetScout Systems

In related news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 $844,661.83. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owns 130,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,161,036. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetScout Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTCT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NetScout Systems by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,551 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,975,000 after purchasing an additional 81,154 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,507 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 28,583 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 163,272 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after buying an additional 36,075 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in NetScout Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,783,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $940,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.