What happened
Shares of Varonis (VRNS 1.33%) jumped as much as 10% today after a Wall Street analyst boosted his price target on the stock. Truist Securities reiterated its buy rating on Varonis while increasing its valuation estimate from $145 to $160. Separately, the company announced that it had achieved Common Criteria certification from the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP).
So what
The cybersecurity technology sector has been reeling in recent days following a massive hack related to network management software provider SolarWinds that impacted numerous U.S. government agencies and other corporations. Even enterprise software behemoth Microsoft has acknowledged that it was impacted by the breach.
The incident is likely to spur higher demand in the IT market for cybersecurity offerings, especially around governance and compliance. Varonis has a strong position in governance and compliance and should benefit from increased spending, according to analyst Joel Fishbein.
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The NIAP certification that Varonis received applies specifically to meeting government security standards for cybersecurity and IT products that are used in national security systems.
"Governments and national defense agencies rely on Varonis to secure highly sensitive data and watch for stealthy threats from adversaries and insiders," Varonis President of U.S. Public Sector Michael Wallace said in a statement. "After rigorous testing and evaluation, we are pleased to receive Common Criteria certification from the National Information Assurance Partnership to further demonstrate our commitment to our public-sector customers around the world."
Now what
Fishbein believes that Varonis could be poised to beat consensus estimates if it can continue adding customers. Varonis expects revenue in the fourth quarter to be in the range of $82 million to $85 million, but that outlook was issued in late October prior to the cyberattack.
