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

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

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

NetScout Systems Price Performance

Shares of NTCT stock opened at $27.67 on Friday. NetScout Systems has a 1-year low of $18.12 and a 1-year high of $30.67. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.98.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 owned 6,254 shares in the company, valued at $170,296.42. This trade represents a 24.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher Perretta sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $280,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,144,656.66. The trade was a 19.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in NetScout Systems by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,011 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in NetScout Systems by 1,857.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,096 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NetScout Systems by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about 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

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.