NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded NetScout Systems from “hold” to “strong buy,” while analysts’ average rating remains “Buy” with a $35.50 price target.
• NetScout reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, beating the $0.38 consensus estimate, while revenue of $210.42 million exceeded expectations and rose 12.7% year over year.
• Shares opened at $38.04, with a market capitalization of $2.77 billion; insiders sold 18,269 shares worth approximately $718,704 over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 91.64% of the stock.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NetScout Systems from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of NetScout Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetScout Systems currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $35.50.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTCT opened at $38.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20 and a beta of 0.69. NetScout Systems has a fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $45.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.76 and a 200-day moving average of $36.16.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.14. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.71%.The business had revenue of $210.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $196.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NetScout Systems

In related news, COO Sanjay Munshi sold 2,269 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total value of $89,103.63. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $264,247.83. This trade represents a 25.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Downing sold 8,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.41, for a total transaction of $307,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 127,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,909,143.69. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,269 shares of company stock worth $718,704. 4.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in NetScout Systems by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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