NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $44.22 and last traded at $44.2620, with a volume of 73145 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTCT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised NetScout Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17 and a beta of 0.68.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $203.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.64 million. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 11.11%.The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 8,000 shares of the business’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 owned 129,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,202,285.09. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,450. The trade was 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 3.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetScout Systems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTCT. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in NetScout Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in NetScout Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 1,936.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.