Chief Operating Officer Sells NetScout Systems Shares for $54,460

On Dec. 3, 2025, NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Munshi executed an open-market sale of 2,000 directly held shares, as disclosed in the SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summary

Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 reported price ($27.23); post-transaction value based on Dec. 3, 2025 market close ($27.23).

Key questions

• How significant was this trade relative to Munshi's total direct ownership?
  The 2,000 shares sold represented 24.23% of his direct holdings, a substantial reduction in a single transaction, leaving 6,254 shares under direct ownership and no indirect exposure.
• Was this transaction part of a pattern or an isolated event?
  This is Munshi’s only open-market sale in the past year; all other activity consisted of administrative events.
• Did the transaction involve any derivative or indirect entities?
  No derivative instruments or indirect holdings were involved; the disposition was entirely from directly owned common stock, with indirect holdings post-transaction explicitly reported as zero.
• What is the market context for this disposition and did timing impact valuation?
  The sale was executed at around $27.23 per share, near both the open and close on Dec. 3, 2025, when NetScout shares had returned 22.96% over the prior year, indicating the transaction was conducted at a relatively favorable price point for liquidity extraction.

Company overview

* 1-year price change calculated using Dec. 3, 2025 as the reference date.

Company snapshot

• Offers service assurance, network performance monitoring, and cybersecurity solutions, including nGeniusONE, nGeniusPULSE, Arbor DDoS protection, and Omnis Cyber Investigator.
• Generates revenue through the sale of software platforms, hardware appliances, and related services for network visibility, analytics, and security.
• Serves enterprise clients across sectors such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and telecommunications, as well as service providers and government agencies globally.

NetScout Systems operates at scale as a leading provider of network performance management and cybersecurity solutions, with a global customer base and a diversified product portfolio. The company leverages its proprietary technologies to help businesses and service providers maintain service quality and protect against cyber threats. Its established presence across multiple industries and focus on advanced analytics underpin its competitive positioning in the software infrastructure market.

What this transaction means for investors

Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Munshi's 2,000-share sale in December was part of a 10b5-1 plan, a trading plan that allows employees of publicly traded companies to transact their shares on a prearranged schedule, a common protection against insider trading.

Nonetheless, with the stock up almost 23% year over year on Dec. 3, Munshi's transaction was a favorable one, netting just shy of $55,000. NetScout reported its earnings results for the fiscal second quarter (ended Sept. 30) on Nov. 6, beating expectations for both earnings per share and revenue. The company also raised its full-year fiscal guidance for revenue and net income per share.

NetScout stock is basically flat over a five-year period as of Jan. 5, but the company certainly operates in an attractive industry at the moment, as businesses digitize their operations and look to solutions for cybersecurity and performance management. Many industry watchers argue that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to more aggressive and complex cyberattacks. If NetScout's cybersecurity solutions can live up to the increased threat, the company and its stock could see continued strength from here.

Glossary

Open-market sale: A transaction where shares are sold on a public exchange, not through private or pre-arranged deals.
SEC Form 4: A required filing disclosing insider trades by company officers, directors, or major shareholders.
Direct holdings: Shares owned personally and directly by an individual, not through intermediaries or entities.
Indirect holdings: Shares owned through another entity, such as a trust or family member, rather than directly.
Disposition: The act of selling or otherwise transferring ownership of an asset, such as company stock.
Derivative instruments: Financial contracts whose value is based on the performance of underlying assets, like stocks or bonds.
Liquidity extraction: Converting assets, such as shares, into cash, often by selling them in the market.
Median sell size: The middle value of all sell transactions by size, used to indicate a typical transaction amount.
Administrative events: Non-trading changes in stock ownership, such as grants, vesting, or transfers, not involving market sales.
Service assurance: Processes and tools ensuring network services perform reliably and meet agreed quality standards.
Network performance monitoring: Tracking and analyzing network activity to maintain speed, reliability, and security.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Sarah Sidlow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.