Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on VRNT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Verint Systems from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Verint Systems in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Verint Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verint Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Verint Systems Stock Performance

Verint Systems stock opened at $24.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.27. Verint Systems has a fifty-two week low of $21.27 and a fifty-two week high of $38.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Grant A. Highlander sold 12,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total transaction of $376,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 117,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,426,257.25. This represents a 9.91 % 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, insider Peter Fante sold 16,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total value of $446,732.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 73,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,017,601.28. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verint Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Verint Systems by 142.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 97,757 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 57,465 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Verint Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $768,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verint Systems by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,769 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 5,571 shares during the period. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Verint Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verint Systems by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 516,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,176,000 after buying an additional 197,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.