NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Trading 1.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) shares traded up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $20.87 and last traded at $20.79. 51,737 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 530,433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 price objective on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -3.54 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last posted its earnings results 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 research analysts expect that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NetScout Systems

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,036. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321. 3.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTCT. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,055,913 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted 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 buying an additional 448,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 388,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,410,000 after buying an additional 224,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in NetScout Systems in the fourth quarter worth $4,480,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 102.9% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 392,566 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,503,000 after buying an additional 199,079 shares during the last quarter. 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.