Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on VRNT. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Verint Systems from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Verint Systems from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verint Systems from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Verint Systems from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.67.

Verint Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRNT traded down $2.89 on Thursday, reaching $18.73. 3,786,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 747,934. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.88 and its 200-day moving average is $24.74. Verint Systems has a fifty-two week low of $18.17 and a fifty-two week high of $38.17.

Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The technology company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $253.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.82 million. Verint Systems had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verint Systems will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verint Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verint Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,528,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Verint Systems by 491.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 764,498 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,985,000 after acquiring an additional 635,334 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Verint Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,653,000. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in Verint Systems by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 1,717,703 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,151,000 after acquiring an additional 486,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Verint Systems by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,263,502 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,683,000 after purchasing an additional 412,655 shares during the last quarter. 94.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verint Systems Company Profile

Verint Systems Inc provides customer engagement solutions worldwide. It offers forecasting and scheduling, channels and routing, knowledge management, fraud and security solutions, quality and compliance, analytics and insights, real-time assistance, self-services, financial compliance, and voice pf the consumer solutions.