While all eyes are on Nvidia, whose stock surged by almost 5% yesterday, overtaking Apple to become the second most valuable company in the world, only behind Microsoft, with a market cap hitting $3 trillion, another tech company, Verint Systems (NASDAQ: VRNT), put in an impressive display.
Shares of the $2.1 billion technology company surged by 23% on Wednesday and closed above its short-term resistance, indicating a momentum shift in its trend. So, let's take a closer look at the company and its recent earnings results to see if now is the opportune time to buy.
Verint's Recent Earnings Performance
Verint Systems reported quarterly earnings of $0.59 per share and revenue of $221.28 million on Tuesday after the market closed, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.54 per share. This marks an earnings surprise of 9.26%, compared to $0.53 per share a year ago. In the previous quarter, Verint exceeded expectations with earnings of $1.07 per share against a forecast of $0.99, an 8.08% surprise. Over the past four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.
Notably, the company also increased its outlook for fiscal 2025. Verint said it sees opportunities for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to significantly boost the contact center market. The company now expects full-year sales of $933 million, with adjusted earnings of $2.90 per share versus the consensus of $2.88 per share.
An Overview of Verint Systems
Verint Systems provides global customer engagement solutions, forecasting, scheduling, analytics, real-time assistance, and fraud and security solutions. Its Verint Open platform helps brands increase CX automation across various touchpoints, including contact centers, back offices, branches, websites, and mobile apps. Verint serves multiple industries, including banking, insurance, public sector, retail, and telecommunications.
Its stock, VRNT, is trading at the high end of its 50-day range after yesterday's surge higher. It is now 13.8% away from its 52-week high and 88.59% above its 52-week low. Following its earnings report, Verint's stock surged 23% on Wednesday, boosting its year-to-date performance to over 28% and outperforming its sector and the overall market. The stock has cleared all significant short-term resistance and moving averages after briefly trading near its 200-day SMA and support on Tuesday. This surge could signal an important trend shift for Verint.
Verint Systems: Analysts Agree on Moderate Buy
Five analysts have a consensus rating of moderate buy on Verint's stock, with a price target of $35.20. Following the recent earnings report, Needham & Company LLC reiterated its buy rating with a $40 price target. At the same time, the Royal Bank of Canada maintained its outperform rating, setting a price target of $36.
Despite the positive analyst sentiment, there is a short interest of 4.54%, equaling 2.7 million shares, which has increased by 23.8% from the previous month.
Verint Systems' Stock Rally Fueled by Strong Earnings and Analyst Confidence
A concerning aspect for shareholders is the pattern of consistent insider selling over the past twelve months, with seven insiders selling $12.94 million worth of stock and no insider buying. Insider ownership currently stands at 1.7%. Additionally, institutional outflows have significantly outpaced inflows, with $321 million in outflows compared to $176 million in inflows over the past year.
Verint Systems' strong earnings performance and positive analyst sentiment have driven a notable rally in its stock, positioning it as a recent standout performer amidst broader market movements. However, the persistent insider selling and significant institutional outflows warrant potential caution for potential investors.
