Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) to "Buy"

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $65.00 target price on the technology company's stock, up from their previous target price of $50.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 19.46% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on VRNS. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Varonis Systems from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Varonis Systems from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Varonis Systems from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Varonis Systems from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Varonis Systems from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Varonis Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.67.

Varonis Systems Stock Performance

VRNS traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.41. 2,072,868 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,546,737. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.17 and a beta of 0.76. Varonis Systems has a 1-year low of $36.53 and a 1-year high of $60.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $136.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.10 million. Varonis Systems had a negative net margin of 15.88% and a negative return on equity of 20.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Varonis Systems will post -0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Den Bosch Fred Van sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 131,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,583,300. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Varonis Systems

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Varonis Systems by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,246,769 shares of the technology company's stock worth $544,124,000 after acquiring an additional 193,210 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Varonis Systems by 26.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,084,830 shares of the technology company's stock worth $165,231,000 after acquiring an additional 848,408 shares during the last quarter. RGM Capital LLC increased its stake in Varonis Systems by 45.5% during the first quarter. RGM Capital LLC now owns 2,706,531 shares of the technology company's stock worth $109,479,000 after acquiring an additional 846,475 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Varonis Systems by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,501,581 shares of the technology company's stock worth $111,145,000 after acquiring an additional 113,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Varonis Systems by 98.6% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,321,317 shares of the technology company's stock worth $93,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,687 shares during the last quarter. 95.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.