Veeva Systems drops after sudden CFO departure

Veeva Systems

02/04/2024 13:43

** Veeva Systems Inc's  VEEV.N  shares down 3.8% at $221.54
before the bell after healthcare tech firm announces sudden
departure of its finance chief
    ** In filing late Mon, cloud solutions provider to life
sciences industry said Brent Bowman's nearly 4-yr tenure as CFO
ended as of Apr 1
    ** Former CFO and board member Tim Cabral to serve as
interim CFO until replacement named, co said
    ** Bowman to remain employee for three months during
transition, co said, adding his departure not due to any
misconduct, disagreements on operations/policies, or result of
financial performance
    ** VEEV also reiterated current qtr rev and operating income
targets ($640-$643 mln / $245-$247 mln) and for fiscal year 2025
($2.725-$2.74 bln / $1.07 bln)
    ** Oppenheimer ("outperform", $260 PT) in note to clients
said Wall Street typically views exec departures as negative
sign of near-term execution risk, and that investors will likely
question why co did not reiterate billings and cash flow
projections
    ** Jefferies ("buy", $270 PT) said CFO departure is
unexpected and comes with limited guidance reiteration
    ** Avg rating among 28 analysts is "buy" and median PT is
$246, per LSEG data
    ** VEEV's stock has risen ~20% YTD through Mon following 19%
gain in 2023

 (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
 ((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))