Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Varonis Systems Call Options (NASDAQ:VRNS)

by · The Markets Daily

Varonis Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNS – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 7,193 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 186% compared to the typical volume of 2,517 call options.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $49.75 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Varonis Systems in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna raised their target price on Varonis Systems from $36.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Varonis Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Varonis Systems from $39.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Varonis Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.94.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VRNS

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Varonis Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Varonis Systems by 417.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 89,971 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,269,000 after purchasing an additional 72,577 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Varonis Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $247,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Varonis Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Varonis Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Varonis Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,441,000. 95.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Varonis Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNS traded up $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.72. The stock had a trading volume of 36,254,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,944. Varonis Systems has a 52 week low of $19.70 and a 52 week high of $63.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.61 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.96.

Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The technology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. Varonis Systems had a negative net margin of 20.55% and a negative return on equity of 19.18%. The business had revenue of $180.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Varonis Systems’s quarterly revenue 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, analysts anticipate that Varonis Systems will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Varonis Systems Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also