NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Stock Moved Down to “Hold” by Wall Street Zen

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NTCT. Zacks Research lowered NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of NetScout Systems in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. after the company reported F1Q27 results. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of NetScout Systems from $43.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NetScout Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.50.

NetScout Systems Stock Down 1.0%

NTCT stock opened at $31.51 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.72. NetScout Systems has a fifty-two week low of $25.29 and a fifty-two week high of $45.28.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The technology company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.71%. The business had revenue of $222.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. NetScout Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetScout Systems

In other news, EVP John Downing sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.41, for a total transaction of $307,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 127,809 shares in the company, valued at $4,909,143.69. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Sanjay Munshi sold 2,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $89,103.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,729 shares in the company, valued at $264,247.83. This represents a 25.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,269 shares of company stock valued at $813,184. Company insiders own 4.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetScout Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in NetScout Systems by 111.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 754 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in NetScout Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about NetScout Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting NetScout Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q2 2027 adjusted EPS was $0.71, beating the $0.66 consensus and rising from $0.62 a year earlier. Revenue of $222.19 million also topped estimates of $218.77 million. Zacks earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: NetScout maintained fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $2.65–$2.80, above the $2.62 consensus. Revenue guidance of $885 million–$915 million brackets analysts’ $904.9 million estimate, while its midpoint is slightly below that forecast.
• Negative Sentiment: RBC cut its price target to $35 from $43 and kept a “sector perform” rating. The new target still implies about 11.1% upside from the cited $31.51 share price, but the sizable reduction may weigh on sentiment. RBC ratings information
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the quarterly beats, revenue increased just 1.4% year over year, suggesting modest growth and potentially limiting enthusiasm about the results.

NetScout Systems Company Profile

NetScout Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: NTCT) provides network performance management, service assurance and cybersecurity solutions for enterprises, communications service providers, government organizations and other large institutions. Its technologies are designed to help customers monitor network traffic, identify performance issues, maintain service availability and detect or respond to cyberthreats.

The company’s offerings include the nGeniusONE service assurance platform, InfiniStream network monitoring and packet-based visibility technologies, and solutions associated with its Arbor portfolio for distributed denial-of-service protection, network detection and response, and other cybersecurity applications.