NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Trading Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) fell 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $20.86 and last traded at $20.90. 37,277 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 507,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

NetScout Systems Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.58 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.88. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321. Insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTCT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 4.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,975,000 after buying an additional 81,154 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 163,272 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 36,075 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,783,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $940,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 224,935.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,056,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055,913 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.