Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,310,000 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the February 28th total of 11,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days. Currently, 9.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Varonis Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Varonis Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $56,561,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Varonis Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,538,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Varonis Systems by 761.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,125,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,026,000 after acquiring an additional 995,274 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 97.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,338,452 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,467,000 after acquiring an additional 661,436 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Varonis Systems by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,380,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,322,000 after purchasing an additional 541,000 shares in the last quarter. 95.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRNS. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Varonis Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Varonis Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Varonis Systems in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Varonis Systems in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Varonis Systems from $57.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Varonis Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.53.

Varonis Systems Trading Up 1.6 %

Varonis Systems stock opened at $41.56 on Thursday. Varonis Systems has a one year low of $39.11 and a one year high of $60.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.48 and its 200 day moving average is $48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of -48.33 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Varonis Systems will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Varonis Systems announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.