Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Varonis Systems shares gapped up after Stephens upgraded the stock from equal weight to overweight and lifted its price target to $45 from $33, helping push the stock higher in premarket trading.
• Other analysts have also turned more bullish, with Needham, Wedbush, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan raising targets or reiterating positive ratings. The stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $42.15.
• The move comes amid strong recent earnings and takeover speculation: Varonis beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and reports that it may be evaluating a sale have added to investor enthusiasm.

Shares of Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Stephens upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $35.03, but opened at $36.35. Stephens now has a $45.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $33.00. Varonis Systems shares last traded at $36.3230, with a volume of 418,886 shares.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wedbush increased their price target on Varonis Systems from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Varonis Systems from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Varonis Systems from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Varonis Systems from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Varonis Systems in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.15.

Key Headlines Impacting Varonis Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Varonis Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Varonis is reportedly evaluating a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from firms including Blackstone, Thoma Bravo, and Vista Equity Partners, which has boosted investor enthusiasm for a possible premium offer. Varonis Systems weighs sale as private equity giants circle: reports
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens upgraded VRNS from “equal weight” to “overweight” and raised its price target to $45 from $33, signaling improved confidence in upside from current levels. Stephens upgrades Varonis Systems
• Positive Sentiment: Needham also raised its price target to $40 from $36 and reiterated a buy rating, adding to the bullish analyst momentum around the name. Needham raises Varonis Systems price target
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed heavy call buying, suggesting traders are positioning for additional near-term gains. Unusual options trading activity
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks noted the stock’s strong move on above-average volume and pointed to rising earnings estimate revisions as a factor that could support further upside. Zacks article on Varonis

Institutional Trading of Varonis Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRNS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,418,273 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $440,119,000 after buying an additional 822,925 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Varonis Systems by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,427,245 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $145,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,002 shares in the last quarter. RGM Capital LLC increased its stake in Varonis Systems by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. RGM Capital LLC now owns 3,160,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $103,651,000 after acquiring an additional 460,580 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Varonis Systems by 43.4% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,123,056 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,029,000 after acquiring an additional 944,676 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Varonis Systems by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,833,180 shares of the technology company's stock worth $92,943,000 after purchasing an additional 151,961 shares during the period. 95.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Varonis Systems Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.67 and a beta of 0.89.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $173.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $165.52 million. Varonis Systems had a negative return on equity of 20.27% and a negative net margin of 19.75%.The firm's revenue was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. Varonis Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.120 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.000-0.010 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Varonis Systems, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Varonis Systems Company Profile

Varonis Systems is a cybersecurity firm specializing in the protection and management of unstructured data. The company's flagship Data Security Platform provides advanced analytics for monitoring file systems, email servers, collaboration platforms and cloud storage. By continuously mapping and analyzing data permissions and user behavior, Varonis enables organizations to detect insider threats, verify compliance and remediate exposed data in real time.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in New York City, Varonis serves a diverse global customer base across financial services, healthcare, media, manufacturing and government.

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