KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Position in Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 23,100 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,026,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 761.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,125,960 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,026,000 after purchasing an additional 995,274 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Varonis Systems in the fourth quarter worth $21,860,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Varonis Systems during the fourth quarter worth $17,088,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Varonis Systems by 46.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 839,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,415,000 after buying an additional 267,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 147,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.65% of the company’s stock.

Varonis Systems Price Performance

Shares of Varonis Systems stock opened at $41.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.42 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.31. Varonis Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.11 and a twelve month high of $60.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Varonis Systems, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Varonis Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Varonis Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Varonis Systems in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Varonis Systems from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Varonis Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Varonis Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.82.

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.