Short Interest in Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) Drops By 15.7%

Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, a drop of 15.7% from the December 31st total of 3,500,000 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 838,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Verint Systems in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Verint Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Verint Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verint Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Verint Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRNT opened at $25.38 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Verint Systems has a twelve month low of $21.27 and a twelve month high of $38.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Grant A. Highlander sold 12,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total value of $376,740.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 117,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,426,257.25. This trade represents a 9.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Fante sold 16,233 shares of Verint Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total value of $446,732.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,017,601.28. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Verint Systems by 160.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 793 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Verint Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Verint Systems by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,380 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verint Systems by 135.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Verint Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $154,000. 94.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.