NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)’s share price dropped 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $21.33 and last traded at $21.83. Approximately 48,387 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 436,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

NetScout Systems Trading Down 1.2 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 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%. Research analysts expect that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the company’s 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,706,955.12. The trade was a 14.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321. 3.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTCT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,353,501 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,597,000 after buying an additional 64,475 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in NetScout Systems by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,118,267 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $89,202,000 after purchasing an additional 448,537 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in NetScout Systems by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,098,279 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,388,000 after purchasing an additional 109,569 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 224,935.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,056,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055,913 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,959,996 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,463,000 after purchasing an additional 30,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.