Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) Stock Price

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $54.00 to $46.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.75% from the stock’s previous close.

VRNS has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Varonis Systems from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Varonis Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Varonis Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Varonis Systems from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Varonis Systems from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.11.

Varonis Systems Price Performance

Shares of Varonis Systems stock traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.80. 406,072 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,506,420. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.44 and a beta of 0.76. Varonis Systems has a fifty-two week low of $36.53 and a fifty-two week high of $60.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.95.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.24). Varonis Systems had a negative return on equity of 20.35% and a negative net margin of 17.38%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Varonis Systems will post -0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Varonis Systems

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Varonis Systems in the first quarter worth $255,000. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Varonis Systems by 100,200.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,006 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Varonis Systems by 5.7% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 173,984 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,038,000 after acquiring an additional 9,404 shares in the last quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Varonis Systems by 28.6% during the first quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC now owns 207,992 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,413,000 after purchasing an additional 46,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Varonis Systems by 4,782.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 13,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.65% of the company’s stock.

About Varonis Systems

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.