D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Raises Stake in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,275,726 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,811 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in NetScout Systems were worth $23,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NetScout Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,184,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in NetScout Systems by 29,786.7% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,483 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in NetScout Systems by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,429,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,529 shares during the period. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Downing sold 4,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $84,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 131,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,631,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John Downing sold 4,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $84,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 131,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,631,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.81, for a total transaction of $122,265.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 43,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $816,993.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,952 shares of company stock valued at $598,411 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.59% of the company’s stock.

NetScout Systems Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ:NTCT opened at $21.38 on Monday. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $28.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.18 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The technology company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $174.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.47 million. NetScout Systems had a positive return on equity of 5.35% and a negative net margin of 74.02%. NetScout Systems’s revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NTCT shares. StockNews.com downgraded NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of NetScout Systems in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

About NetScout Systems

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.