NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $41.67 and last traded at $41.6540, with a volume of 168412 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised 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 target price on shares of NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NetScout Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.96.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. NetScout Systems had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The firm had revenue of $203.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.650-2.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NetScout Systems news, Director Alfred Grasso sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.67, for a total value of $203,350.00. Following the sale, the director owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,450. This represents a 12.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $118,440,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 65.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 343,551 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,874,000 after purchasing an additional 136,377 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 93.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 119,363 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 57,602 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 604.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 50,255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 43,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 2,546.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 449,737 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after purchasing an additional 432,741 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

About NetScout Systems

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.