Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock.

VRNS has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Varonis Systems from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Varonis Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Varonis Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Varonis Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Varonis Systems from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Varonis Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.38.

Varonis Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNS traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 39,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,761,345. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Varonis Systems has a fifty-two week low of $39.10 and a fifty-two week high of $60.58.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.24). Varonis Systems had a negative return on equity of 20.35% and a negative net margin of 17.38%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Varonis Systems will post -0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Varonis Systems declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Varonis Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRNS. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 113,671 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,422,000 after acquiring an additional 43,258 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Varonis Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,872,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Varonis Systems by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 389,522 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,007,000 after buying an additional 35,274 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Varonis Systems by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 105,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,957,000 after buying an additional 49,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Varonis Systems by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,783,873 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $100,789,000 after acquiring an additional 147,081 shares during the period. 95.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Varonis Systems Company Profile

Varonis Systems, Inc provides software products and services that allow enterprises to manage, analyze, alert, and secure enterprise data in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. Its software enables enterprises to protect data stored on premises and in the cloud, including sensitive files and emails; confidential personal data belonging to customers, and patients and employees' data; financial records; source code, strategic and product plans; and other intellectual property.