NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) shares were down 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $20.86 and last traded at $20.90. Approximately 37,277 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 507,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NTCT shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. StockNews.com raised shares of NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

NetScout Systems Trading Up 2.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 0.64. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.88.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,161,036. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total transaction of $152,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $844,661.83. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTCT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 1,214.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,367 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 316.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,513 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 32.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 811.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 52.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.