Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $49.75 price objective on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $60.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.11% from the company’s current price.

VRNS has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Varonis Systems from $46.00 to $49.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Varonis Systems from $37.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Varonis Systems in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Varonis Systems from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Varonis Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Varonis Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.94.

Varonis Systems Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Varonis Systems stock traded up $1.38 on Friday, reaching $48.72. The company had a trading volume of 36,254,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,944. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.61 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.96. Varonis Systems has a 1 year low of $19.70 and a 1 year high of $63.80.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The technology company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. Varonis Systems had a negative return on equity of 19.18% and a negative net margin of 20.55%. The firm had revenue of $180.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Varonis Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.140-0.150 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.020-0.030 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Varonis Systems will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Varonis Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRNS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Varonis Systems by 417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 89,971 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,269,000 after acquiring an additional 72,577 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Varonis Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $247,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Varonis Systems in the second quarter worth $204,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Varonis Systems in the second quarter worth $306,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Varonis Systems in the second quarter worth $1,441,000. 95.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Varonis Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Varonis Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The proposed acquisition removes much of the company-specific uncertainty and offers shareholders a cash consideration above Varonis’s pre-deal trading level. RBC said the combination makes strategic sense as competition in cybersecurity intensifies. RBC on Varonis Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions largely reflect the announced transaction. Citigroup, Robert W. Baird and Wedbush raised their targets to approximately $49.75-$50, while Piper Sandler, TD Cowen, Jefferies, Wells Fargo, DA Davidson and Rosenblatt reaffirmed neutral, hold or equal-weight ratings with targets near $49.75. These targets imply limited additional upside because they are close to the offer price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy options activity included purchases of 7,193 call contracts, about 186% above average call volume, suggesting elevated speculative interest following the deal announcement. However, options activity does not guarantee further gains.
• Negative Sentiment: RBC downgraded Varonis to Sector Perform and lowered its target to $49.75 from $52, citing the Proofpoint transaction. With the stock near the cash offer, the remaining upside is limited and depends primarily on deal completion rather than operating performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder-rights law firms announced investigations into whether the $49.75 offer fairly values Varonis and whether the board adequately protected investors. Such reviews could create transaction uncertainty, although they do not necessarily indicate that the deal will fail. Ademi Varonis Shareholder Alert

Varonis Systems Company Profile

Varonis Systems, Inc develops data security and cyber-risk management software for organizations seeking to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access, misuse, and cyberattacks. Its platform helps customers discover and classify data, analyze access permissions, identify unusual activity, and remediate security exposures across on-premises and cloud-based environments.

The company’s offerings are designed to secure data stored in file systems, collaboration platforms, databases, email, and other enterprise repositories.