What Happened?
Shares of data protection and security software company Varonis (NASDAQ: VRNS) jumped 3.2% in the afternoon session after analyst Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, raising its price target to $65 from $50.
The investment firm cited robust cybersecurity spending and Varonis's key position in the data governance market. Data governance, which involves managing and securing a company's sensitive information, became increasingly vital as generative AI adoption grew. Jefferies' analyst note also highlighted Varonis as a favorite stock for the second half of 2025, viewing it as a way to invest in AI within the cybersecurity space. The positive sentiment was echoed by Baird, which also raised its price target to $58 and maintained an "Outperform" rating on the stock.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $53.21, up 2.7% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Varonis’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock gained 3.3% on the news that Wells Fargo raised its price target on the company's stock to $51 from $46, while maintaining an Equal Weight rating. The bank's analyst noted that the Data Protection market is gaining momentum, partly due to the rollout of Agentic AI technologies, which could benefit Varonis in the long term. Wells Fargo indicated that after speaking with larger resellers, it had developed "a more constructive view on the outlook for Varonis.".
Varonis is up 20% since the beginning of the year, but at $53.21 per share, it is still trading 11.3% below its 52-week high of $59.98 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Varonis’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,570.
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