NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) fell 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $21.32 and last traded at $21.70. 20,537 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 501,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

NetScout Systems Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.69 and a 200 day moving average of $21.92. 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 capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -3.62 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, 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other NetScout Systems news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $152,555.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,661.83. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 sale, the insider now owns 71,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,706,955.12. This represents a 14.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 388,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,410,000 after acquiring an additional 224,925 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,480,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 102.9% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 392,566 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,503,000 after purchasing an additional 199,079 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 205.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 257,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 173,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.