NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) Short Interest Update

NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,800,000 shares, a drop of 18.9% from the March 15th total of 2,220,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 471,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

Shares of NTCT stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $20.01. 21,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.78. NetScout Systems has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $27.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.66.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. NetScout Systems had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 50.90%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NetScout Systems will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total transaction of $72,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,161,036. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,706,955.12. The trade was a 14.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321 over the last quarter. 3.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in NetScout Systems by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,152,379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,211,000 after acquiring an additional 328,468 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 94.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,759 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 15,443 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 68,082 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 1,658.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 18,195 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 17,160 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NetScout Systems Company Profile

NetScout Systems, Inc provides service assurance and cybersecurity solutions for protect digital business services against disruptions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers nGeniusONE management software that enables customers to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems, as well as facilitate the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures; and specialized platforms and analytic modules that enable its customers to analyze and troubleshoot traffic in radio access and Wi-Fi networks.