NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• NetScout Systems was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from buy to hold, adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that includes RBC raising its price target to $38 but keeping a “sector perform” rating.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were better than expected, with EPS of $0.52 topping estimates and revenue of about $203 million also beating forecasts.
• NetScout also raised FY 2027 guidance to EPS of 2.65-2.80, signaling management confidence despite recent analyst caution.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

NTCT has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered NetScout Systems from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.50.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTCT opened at $39.09 on Friday. NetScout Systems has a one year low of $20.39 and a one year high of $39.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.10.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 11.11%.The firm had revenue of $203.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $198.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $90,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 129,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,884,820. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,587 shares of the technology company's stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 1.9% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 32,700 shares of the technology company's stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 6.2% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,552 shares of the technology company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,883 shares of the technology company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about NetScout Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting NetScout Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetScout beat fiscal Q4 earnings estimates, reporting $0.52 per share versus the $0.46 consensus, and revenue came in ahead of expectations at about $203 million. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also raised FY 2027 guidance to EPS of 2.65-2.80 and revenue of $885 million-$915 million, both above Wall Street estimates, signaling confidence in growth ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said fiscal 2026 results were strong across both top and bottom lines, reinforcing the earnings beat and improving investor sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on NTCT from $29 to $38, but kept a “sector perform” rating, which suggests the recent rally may already reflect much of the near-term upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent transcript coverage and valuation commentary may keep attention on the stock, but they do not appear to add a major new catalyst beyond the earnings and guidance update. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One cautionary note is that RBC’s $38 target sits below the current share price, implying limited upside after the post-earnings move. Article Title

About NetScout Systems

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.