NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded NetScout Systems to “strong buy” from “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $35.50 target price.
• NetScout exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.52 in adjusted EPS versus $0.38 expected and $210.42 million in revenue versus $196.17 million expected; revenue rose 12.7% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company, with several funds increasing their stakes, although two insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on NTCT. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of NetScout Systems in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of NetScout Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.50.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NTCT stock opened at $38.44 on Friday. NetScout Systems has a 1 year low of $21.21 and a 1 year high of $45.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.39.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $210.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.17 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetScout Systems

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.29, for a total value of $322,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 129,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,202,285.09. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Alfred Grasso sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.67, for a total transaction of $203,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,423,450. This trade represents a 12.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 4.74% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NetScout Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTCT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $498,027,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 93.6% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,559,192 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,192,000 after purchasing an additional 753,842 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,519,733 shares of the technology company's stock worth $68,184,000 after purchasing an additional 729,632 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 1,361.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 747,824 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $19,316,000 after purchasing an additional 696,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the third quarter valued at $16,091,000. 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.

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