Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Holdings in Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,287,544 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 29,852 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Varonis Systems were worth $101,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRNS. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Varonis Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,645 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Varonis Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $194,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,751 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares during the period. Finally, Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of Varonis Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $224,000. 95.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Varonis Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNS opened at $41.64 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.11 and a 1-year high of $60.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of -48.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Varonis Systems, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Varonis Systems declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on VRNS shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Varonis Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Varonis Systems from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Varonis Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Varonis Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Varonis Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Varonis Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.82.

Varonis Systems 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.