D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Decreases Position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,013,210 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 186,349 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 1.41% of NetScout Systems worth $21,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTCT. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,118,267 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $89,202,000 after acquiring an additional 448,537 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 224,925 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $4,480,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in NetScout Systems by 102.9% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 392,566 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,503,000 after purchasing an additional 199,079 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in NetScout Systems by 205.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 257,700 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 173,400 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total transaction of $72,750.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.77, for a total transaction of $170,775.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 28,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $648,694.53. The trade was a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

NTCT traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.31. 419,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 542,784. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.98 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.10 and a 1-year high of $27.89.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. NetScout Systems had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 50.90%. The company had revenue of $204.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

NetScout Systems Profile

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.