Short Interest in Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) Rises By 27.0%

Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a growth of 27.0% from the March 31st total of 1,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 554,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Verint Systems Price Performance

Shares of VRNT stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.93. The company had a trading volume of 399,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 566,584. Verint Systems has a 52-week low of $18.41 and a 52-week high of $40.28. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $30.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20.

Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. Verint Systems had a net margin of 4.24% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $265.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.45 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Verint Systems will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verint Systems news, CEO Dan Bodner sold 35,039 shares of Verint Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $1,051,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 991,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,752,440. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, President Elan Moriah sold 14,353 shares of Verint Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.62, for a total value of $468,194.86. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $2,608,066.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Bodner sold 35,039 shares of Verint Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 991,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,752,440. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 158,988 shares of company stock valued at $4,873,715. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verint Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verint Systems by 764.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verint Systems by 241.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verint Systems in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verint Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Verint Systems in the third quarter worth about $117,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRNT. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Verint Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Verint Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verint Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Verint Systems from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Verint Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.20.

About Verint Systems

Verint Systems Inc provides customer engagement solutions worldwide. It offers forecasting and scheduling, channels and routing, knowledge management, fraud and security solutions, quality and compliance, analytics and insights, real-time assistance, self-services, financial compliance, and voice pf the consumer solutions.