Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS)

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) in a report published on Tuesday. The firm issued an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Varonis Systems from $57.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Varonis Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Varonis Systems from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Varonis Systems from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Varonis Systems from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Varonis Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Varonis Systems Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Varonis Systems stock opened at $41.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.30 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 52-week low of $39.11 and a 52-week high of $60.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.85.

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

Varonis Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Varonis Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Varonis Systems by 61.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 113,671 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 43,258 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Varonis Systems in the third quarter worth about $1,872,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Varonis Systems by 10.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 389,522 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,274 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Varonis Systems by 88.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 105,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,957,000 after acquiring an additional 49,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Varonis Systems by 9.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,783,873 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $100,789,000 after acquiring an additional 147,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.65% of the company’s stock.

About Varonis Systems

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.