Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Varonis Systems Inc. (VRNS 6.22%) jumped 20% Tuesday after no less than five analyst firms simultaneously assumed coverage on the stock.
So what: Three of those firms assigned a "buy" equivalent to Varonis shares, including per share price targets of $45 from Jefferies, $48 from Needham, and $50 from RBC Capital. All represent fair premiums not only from Varonis' $22 per share IPO last month, but also over today's closing price at $43.78 per share.
Morgan Stanley and Barclays also chimed in today, with both rating the stock the equivalent of a "hold." Barclays opted to set a price target at $42 per share.
Now what: The timing of the calls isn't coincidence, but rather the result of today marking the end of a mandatory 25-day "quiet period" imposed by the SEC following Varonis' IPO. The expiration means its underwriters are now free to release their respective research reports on the company. It's also worth noting even after today's pop, shares of Varonis are still trading roughly 23% below their post-IPO high set three weeks ago.
However, while I agree Varonis could enjoy potentially mouthwatering top line growth thanks to its market leading solution to help companies map human-generated data -- think spreadsheets, word processing documents, emails, text messages and the like -- I'm in no particular hurry to dive into shares of this yet-to-be-profitable company just yet. Instead, I think investors would be wise to let the dust settle and put Varonis on their watchlists to keep tabs on its progress over the next few quarters.
