Wall Street Zen Downgrades NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) to Hold

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

NTCT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of NetScout Systems from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetScout Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

NTCT opened at $29.79 on Friday. NetScout Systems has a one year low of $18.12 and a one year high of $30.67. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.32.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The technology company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.14. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 11.13%.The firm had revenue of $250.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.370-2.450 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other NetScout Systems news, Director Christopher Perretta sold 10,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $280,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,144,656.66. This trade represents a 19.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Sanjay Munshi sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.23, for a total value of $54,460.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,296.42. This trade represents a 24.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetScout Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTCT. Mariner LLC raised its position in NetScout Systems by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 57,968 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 19,167 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $2,046,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in NetScout Systems by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 758,630 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,529,000 after purchasing an additional 35,831 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $162,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 177,162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,794,000 after purchasing an additional 62,531 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is 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.