NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NetScout Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

NetScout Systems Trading Down 2.6%

NTCT opened at $43.68 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.52. NetScout Systems has a 1 year low of $20.39 and a 1 year high of $45.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60 and a beta of 0.68.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company had revenue of $203.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NetScout Systems will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.29, for a total value of $322,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 129,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,202,285.09. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Alfred Grasso sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.67, for a total value of $203,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,450. This represents a 12.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetScout Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in NetScout Systems by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 92.8% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 1,936.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetScout Systems Company Profile

NetScout Systems, Inc is a leading provider of network performance management, service assurance and cybersecurity solutions. The company designs and delivers hardware and software platforms that capture and analyze real-time and historical packet data, enabling IT teams and service providers to monitor application performance, troubleshoot network issues and defend against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. NetScout’s flagship offerings include the nGeniusONE service assurance platform and the InfiniStream packet broker, which together provide end-to-end visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, NetScout has built a reputation for scalable and resilient monitoring infrastructure.