D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS) by 73.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,700 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 87,133 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Varonis Systems were worth $1,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Varonis Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Varonis Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Varonis Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Varonis Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,645 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. 95.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Varonis Systems Stock Performance

Shares of VRNS opened at $46.76 on Friday. 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 market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of -54.37 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.61. Varonis Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.53 and a 12-month high of $60.58.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $136.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.10 million. Varonis Systems had a negative return on equity of 20.35% and a negative net margin of 17.38%. The business’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Varonis Systems, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Varonis Systems announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Varonis Systems from $60.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Varonis Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Varonis Systems from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Varonis Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Varonis Systems from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.06.

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.