Marshall Wace LLP Makes New $3.93 Million Investment in Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS)

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 88,453 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,930,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.08% of Varonis Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRNS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Varonis Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $56,561,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Varonis Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,538,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 761.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,125,960 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,026,000 after buying an additional 995,274 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Varonis Systems by 11,353.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 538,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,917,000 after buying an additional 533,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Varonis Systems by 114.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 979,769 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,531,000 after acquiring an additional 522,075 shares during the last quarter. 95.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRNS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised Varonis Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Varonis Systems in a report on Thursday, January 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Varonis Systems from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.11.

Varonis Systems Price Performance

Shares of VRNS opened at $42.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of -49.16 and a beta of 0.76. Varonis Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.53 and a 52-week high of $60.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.19. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts anticipate that Varonis Systems, Inc. will post -0.83 EPS for the current year.

Varonis Systems declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.