Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.97, but opened at $31.16. Verint Systems shares last traded at $32.44, with a volume of 875,116 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Verint Systems from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Verint Systems from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Verint Systems in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Verint Systems from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verint Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.67.

Verint Systems Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 50.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.87.

Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). Verint Systems had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 6.78%. The company had revenue of $210.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verint Systems Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verint Systems

In other news, CEO Dan Bodner sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $437,692.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 592,832 shares in the company, valued at $15,324,707.20. This trade represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Elan Moriah sold 7,160 shares of Verint Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $185,086.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 139,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,599,638.35. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,811 shares of company stock worth $874,014. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verint Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Verint Systems by 9.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verint Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $311,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Verint Systems by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 58,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after buying an additional 3,938 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verint Systems by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,500,087 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,004,000 after buying an additional 4,034 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN purchased a new stake in shares of Verint Systems in the third quarter worth about $5,083,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.95% of the company’s stock.

About Verint Systems

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.