Netskope Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:NTSK)

Key Points

• Netskope saw elevated options activity, with traders purchasing 3,947 call options—about 16% above the average daily volume. Shares rose $1.97 to $16.66 on Monday.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.03 per share versus the expected $0.26 loss, while generating $220.54 million in revenue. However, Netskope continues to report substantial negative margins and return on equity.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 16 Buy ratings, an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $19.03. Institutional ownership has also increased, while recent insider activity included both significant purchases and sales.

Netskope Inc. (NASDAQ:NTSK - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 3,947 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 16% compared to the average daily volume of 3,411 call options.

Netskope Stock Performance

Shares of Netskope stock traded up $1.97 on Monday, reaching $16.66. 5,348,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,716,669. The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.54. Netskope has a 1-year low of $7.66 and a 1-year high of $27.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.45, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company's 50-day moving average is $13.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.43.

Netskope (NASDAQ:NTSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.23. The business had revenue of $220.54 million during the quarter. Netskope had a negative return on equity of 83.84% and a negative net margin of 91.84%.Netskope has set its FY 2027 guidance at -0.150--0.150 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at -0.040--0.030 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Netskope will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Netskope

In related news, major shareholder Iconiq Strategic Partners Viii purchased 64,771 shares of Netskope stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.42 per share, with a total value of $804,455.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 916,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,385,289.80. This trade represents a 7.60% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lightspeed Venture Partners Se sold 219,075 shares of Netskope stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.23, for a total value of $2,679,287.25. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 1,833,380 shares of company stock valued at $21,960,909. Insiders own 25.52% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netskope

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in Netskope during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,107,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Netskope by 31.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,547,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,628,000 after purchasing an additional 608,355 shares during the period. New York Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Netskope in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,325,580. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Netskope during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,027,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Netskope by 1,381.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 475,918 shares of the company's stock worth $4,041,000 after buying an additional 443,800 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on NTSK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Netskope from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Netskope from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Netskope from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Netskope from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Netskope in a report on Monday, August 17th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.03.

About Netskope

Netskope, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides a cloud-native platform designed to help organizations secure data, users, devices, applications and networks. Its offerings address security needs arising from cloud computing, remote work and the use of software-as-a-service applications.

The company's platform includes security service edge (SSE) and secure access service edge (SASE) capabilities, such as cloud access security broker (CASB) services, secure web gateways, zero-trust network access, data loss prevention, cloud firewall functionality and security analytics.

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