Stock analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies started coverage on shares of NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, November 13th, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Piper Jaffray Companies’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.66% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research cut NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of NetScout Systems in a report on Monday, September 4th. BidaskClub cut NetScout Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on NetScout Systems from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of NetScout Systems in a report on Friday, October 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. NetScout Systems currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.20.
NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $30.45. The stock had a trading volume of 401,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.51. NetScout Systems has a 12 month low of $27.65 and a 12 month high of $38.47. The firm has a market cap of $2,653.44, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.60.
NetScout Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 26th that permits the company to repurchase 25,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total value of $84,510.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,502,087.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Szabados sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total value of $140,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,224,122.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTCT. Seven Bridges Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $109,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,311 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 74.5% in the 2nd quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC now owns 4,608 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. Riverhead Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 77.9% in the 2nd quarter. Riverhead Capital Management LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Allied Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 515.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Allied Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,911 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 4,950 shares during the last quarter.
About NetScout Systems
NetScout Systems, Inc (NetScout) provides operational intelligence and performance analytics for service assurance and cyber security solutions. The Company’s solutions are used in various service provider, enterprise and government networks. Its nGenius and Infinistream technologies, along with certain product lines from the acquired businesses, enable information technology (IT) organizations to manage service delivery quality, and identify and address business service performance issues and security threats.
