NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) Short Interest Down 22.4% in July

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a drop of 22.4% from the July 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 789,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTCT traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.73. 366,668 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,428. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 0.60. NetScout Systems has a 1 year low of $17.10 and a 1 year high of $28.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 4,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $84,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 131,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,631,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetScout Systems

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 977,483 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,456,000 after acquiring an additional 60,772 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,230,849 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $201,602,000 after purchasing an additional 223,975 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $948,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 73.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,429,158 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,220,000 after buying an additional 1,869,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NTCT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of NetScout Systems in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

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.