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STOCK PLANS
 12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
STOCK PLANS STOCK PLANS
2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
On September 7, 2011, the Company's stockholders approved the 2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ESPP), under which 2,500,000 shares of the Company's common stock were reserved for issuance. On November 8, 2018, the Company increased the number of shares available under the ESPP by an additional 3,000,000 shares, and on August 24, 2022, the Company's stockholders approved an amendment to the ESPP that increased the number of shares available under the ESPP by another 2,000,000 shares. The Company implemented the ESPP on March 1, 2012. Eligible employees may purchase shares of the Company's common stock through regular payroll deductions of up to 20% of their eligible compensation. Under the terms of the offering under the ESPP, the number of shares of the Company's common stock which a participant could purchase during any purchase period is limited to 2,000. In addition, the fair market value of shares purchased by an individual participant in the plan may not exceed $25,000 if the contribution period is within any calendar year. However, if contribution periods overlap calendar years, an individual participant is eligible to utilize the unused portion of the $25,000 limit from the subsequent purchase in the current purchase up to $50,000. Under the ESPP, shares of the Company's common stock may be purchased on the last day of each bi-annual offering period at 85% of the fair market value on the last day of such offering period. The offering periods run from March 1 through August 31 and from September 1 through the last day of February of each year. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, employees purchased 564,927 shares under the ESPP with a weighted average purchase price per share of $24.24. At March 31, 2024, 2,207,688 shares were available for future issuance under the ESPP.
2019 Equity Incentive Plan
On September 12, 2019, the Company's stockholders approved the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (2019 Plan), which replaced the Company's 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (Amended 2007 Plan). The 2019 Plan permits the granting of incentive and nonstatutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards, and other stock awards, collectively referred to as "share-based awards."
On September 10, 2020, the Company's stockholders approved an amendment and restatement of the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (2019 First Amended Plan) to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance by 4,700,000 shares, establish a one-year minimum vesting requirement for awards granted on or after September 10, 2020, and change the "fungible share counting ratio" used to calculate the increase or reduction in the number of shares available for issuance under the 2019 First Amended Plan.
On August 24, 2022, the Company's stockholders approved an amendment and restatement of the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (2019 Second Amended Plan) to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance by 7,000,000 shares, and change the "fungible share counting ratio" used to calculate the increase or reduction in the number of shares available for issuance under the 2019 Second Amended Plan.
On September 14, 2023, the Company's stockholders approved an amendment and restatement to the 2019 First Amended Plan (2019 Third Amended Plan) to further increase the number of shares reserved for issuance by 5,900,000 shares and changed the "fungible share counting ratio" used to calculate the increase or reduction in the number of shares available for issuance under the 2019 Third Amended Plan. At September 14, 2023, there was a total of 8,263,547 shares reserved for issuance under the 2019 Third Amended Plan, which consisted of 5,900,000 new shares plus 2,363,547 shares that remained available for grant under the 2019 Second Amended Plan as of September 14, 2023, the effective date of the 2019 Third Amended Plan. The Company refers to the 2019 Plan, 2019 First Amended Plan, 2019 Second Amended Plan and 2019 Third Amended Plan collectively as the "Amended 2019 Plan".
The aggregate number of shares available for issuance under the 2019 Third Amended Plan will increase for any shares (each a "Returning Share"): (i) subject to an award granted under the Amended 2007 Plan or Amended 2019 Plan that are not issued because such award expires or otherwise terminates without all of the shares covered by such award having been issued; (ii) subject to an award under the Amended 2007 Plan or Amended 2019 Plan that are not issued because such award is settled in cash; (iii) issued pursuant to an award granted under the Amended 2007 Plan or Amended 2019 Plan that are forfeited back to or repurchased by the Company because of failure to vest; and (iv) that are reacquired or withheld by the Company to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with common stock issued pursuant to a Full Value Award (as defined below) granted under the Amended 2007 Plan or Amended 2019 Plan. The amount of such increase will be (i) one share for each Returning Share subject to a stock option or stock appreciation right with an exercise or strike price that is at least 100% of the fair market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant (an "Appreciation Award"); and (ii) 2.67 shares for each Returning Share subject to an equity award other than an Appreciation Award (a "Full Value Award") that is returned on or after September 14, 2023. Furthermore, the share reserve under the 2019 Third Amended Plan is reduced by: (i) one share for each share of common stock issued pursuant to an Appreciation Award, (ii) 2.76 shares for each share of common stock issued pursuant to a Full Value Award granted under the Amended 2019 Plan on or after September 12, 2019 but prior to September 10, 2020; (iii) 2.32 shares for each share of common stock issued pursuant to a Full Value Award granted under the Amended 2019 Plan on or after September 10, 2020 but prior to August 24, 2022; (iv) by 2.34 shares for each share of common stock issued pursuant to a Full Value Award granted under the Amended 2019 Plan on or after August 24, 2022; and (v) by 2.67 shares for each share of common stock issued pursuant to a Full Value Award granted under the Amended 2019 Plan on or after September 14, 2023. At March 31, 2024, an aggregate of 5,920,671 shares of unvested equity awards granted under the amended 2019 Plan were outstanding.
The 2019 Amended Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. The Compensation Committee operates under guidelines established by the Board of Directors. The Compensation Committee has the authority to select the employees and consultants to whom awards are granted (except for directors and executive officers) and determine the terms of each award, including the number of shares of common stock subject to the award.
Share-based awards generally vest over four years. The exercise price of stock options shall not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the common stock at the date of grant (110% for incentive stock options granted to holders of more than 10% of the voting stock of NetScout). The term of stock options granted cannot exceed seven years (five years for incentive stock options granted to holders of more than 10% of the voting stock of NetScout).
Based on historical experience, the Company assumed an annualized forfeiture rate of 0% for awards granted to its independent directors, approximately 2% for awards granted to its senior executives, and approximately 5% granted to all remaining employees during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.
Periodically, the Company grants share-based awards to employees, officers, and directors of the Company and its subsidiaries. Additionally, the Company periodically grants performance-based restricted stock units to certain executive officers that vest based upon the Company's total shareholder return as compared to the Russell 2000 Index over a three-year period. The performance-based restricted stock units were valued using the Monte Carlo Simulation model. The measurement and recognition of compensation expense is based on estimated fair values for all share-based payment awards made to its employees and directors. Share-based award grants are generally measured at fair value on the date of grant based on the number of shares granted and the quoted price of the Company's common stock. Such value is recognized as a cost of revenue or an operating expense over the corresponding vesting period.
The following is a summary of share-based compensation expense including restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units granted pursuant to the Company's Amended 2007 Plan and the Amended 2019 Plan, and employee stock purchases made under the Company's 2011 Amended and Restated Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), based on estimated fair values within the applicable cost and expense lines identified below (in thousands):
 Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 202420232022
Cost of product revenue$1,330 $1,129 $1,022 
Cost of service revenue8,899 7,286 6,020 
Research and development19,281 17,055 15,505 
Sales and marketing25,375 22,612 19,684 
General and administrative15,914 13,904 13,843 
$70,799 $61,986 $56,074 

Transactions under the Amended 2007 and the Amended 2019 Plan during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 are summarized in the table below.
 Restricted Stock Units
 Number of
Awards		Weighted
Average
Fair Value
Outstanding – March 31, 20214,495,613 $28.14 
Granted2,121,937 29.06 
Vested(1,728,994)29.04 
Canceled(260,622)28.07 
Outstanding – March 31, 20224,627,934 $28.23 
Granted3,096,295 33.73 
Vested(1,777,708)28.34 
Canceled(197,050)30.93 
Outstanding – March 31, 20235,749,471 $31.07 
Granted2,446,494 28.87 
Vested(2,067,558)30.08 
Canceled(207,736)31.17 
Outstanding – March 31, 20245,920,671 $30.50 

At March 31, 2024, there were 8,387,662 shares of common stock available for grant under the 2019 Third Amended Plan.
The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercised and the fair value of restricted stock units vested at March 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 were as follows (in thousands):
 Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
  
202420232022
Total fair value of restricted stock unit awards vested$61,130 $61,128 $49,593 
At March 31, 2024, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock unit awards was $131.3 million, which is expected to be amortized over a weighted-average period of 1.3 years.