Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) Short Interest Update

Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,480,000 shares, a decrease of 31.3% from the March 15th total of 3,610,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 754,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Verint Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRNT traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 979,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,918. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.43. Verint Systems has a one year low of $14.15 and a one year high of $38.17.

Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The technology company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $253.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $276.82 million. Verint Systems had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verint Systems will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verint Systems news, insider Peter Fante sold 9,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $155,743.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,425. This represents a 31.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Gold sold 2,744 shares of Verint Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.07, for a total value of $44,096.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,561.11. This trade represents a 8.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verint Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verint Systems by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,801 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,864,000 after purchasing an additional 23,400 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verint Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $5,276,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verint Systems by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,500,087 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,004,000 after acquiring an additional 4,034 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Verint Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $321,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in shares of Verint Systems by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 775,869 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $21,298,000 after purchasing an additional 189,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRNT. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Verint Systems from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Verint Systems from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Verint Systems from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Verint Systems from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verint Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verint Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.33.

Verint Systems Company Profile

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.