Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT)

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $22.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 7.63% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

NetScout Systems Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTCT traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.44. The stock had a trading volume of 18,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 716,074. NetScout Systems has a 1 year low of $17.10 and a 1 year high of $30.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.06 and its 200-day moving average is $20.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 0.60.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The technology company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). NetScout Systems had a negative net margin of 17.81% and a positive return on equity of 5.11%. The firm had revenue of $203.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.94 million. Research analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NetScout Systems

In related news, COO Michael Szabados sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.41, for a total value of $102,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 21,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,324.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTCT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in NetScout Systems by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,811,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $246,910,000 after purchasing an additional 387,379 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 377.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 622,927 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,673,000 after acquiring an additional 492,484 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $779,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 50,293 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 14,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.