NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on NTCT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetScout Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of NetScout Systems from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NetScout Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

Shares of NTCT stock opened at $27.67 on Friday. NetScout Systems has a one year low of $18.12 and a one year high of $30.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.54 and a 200-day moving average of $26.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The technology company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.14. NetScout Systems had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The business had revenue of $250.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. NetScout Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.370-2.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In related news, Director Christopher Perretta sold 10,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $280,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,144,656.66. The trade was a 19.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Sanjay Munshi sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.23, for a total transaction of $54,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,254 shares in the company, valued at $170,296.42. This represents a 24.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 3.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetScout Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NetScout Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $484,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,288,036 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,914,000 after buying an additional 588,022 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NetScout Systems by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,587 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting NetScout Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat consensus — NetScout reported GAAP EPS of $1.00 vs. consensus $0.86 and revenue of $250.68M vs. $233.69M, driven by stronger product and service performance; management called results “ahead of expectations.” NETSCOUT Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance raised — Company set EPS guidance of $2.370–$2.450 (above consensus ~2.14) and revenue guidance $835M–$870M (around/above Street midpoint), suggesting management expects continued margin/earnings leverage. NETSCOUT Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and materials available — Full Q3 earnings call transcript and slide presentation provide color on product cadence, backlog, and DDoS/cybersecurity demand; useful for assessing sustainability of beat. NetScout (NTCT) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript NetScout Systems, Inc. 2026 Q3 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Third‑party coverage and summaries reflect the beats — Zacks and MarketBeat note the EPS/revenue beats and provide quick access to call audio/slides for deeper review. NetScout Systems (NTCT) Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates View Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slightly down year‑over‑year — Q3 revenue was down ~0.5% YoY, indicating mixed top‑line trends despite margin/earnings improvements; monitor whether guidance depends on margin gains rather than strong topline growth. NETSCOUT Q3 Summary and Materials

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.