Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 850 Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,906 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in NetScout Systems were worth $492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in NetScout Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $73,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTCT. StockNews.com lowered shares of NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of NetScout Systems in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTCT opened at $21.38 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -10.18 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.88. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $28.58.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The technology company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $174.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.47 million. NetScout Systems had a negative net margin of 74.02% and a positive return on equity of 5.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was 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 $816,993.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John Downing sold 4,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $84,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 131,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,631,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.81, for a total transaction of $122,265.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 43,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $816,993.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,952 shares of company stock worth $598,411 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.59% of the company’s stock.

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.