Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) Stock Price Down 3.6% - Here's What Happened

Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $24.95 and last traded at $24.96. 310,633 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 729,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Verint Systems from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Verint Systems in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com lowered Verint Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Verint Systems in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verint Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Verint Systems Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Fante sold 16,233 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 73,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,017,601.28. This represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Grant A. Highlander sold 12,880 shares of the business'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 transaction of $376,740.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 117,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,426,257.25. This trade represents a 9.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verint Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRNT. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Verint Systems by 15.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 106,134 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,418,000 after buying an additional 13,817 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Verint Systems by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 85,766 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,762,000 after acquiring an additional 14,308 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Verint Systems by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,918,925 shares of the technology company's stock worth $61,792,000 after acquiring an additional 73,441 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Verint Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Verint Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $1,603,000. 94.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.