Oppenheimer positive on Veeva CFO hire, but acknowledges questions

Oppenheimer views Brian Van Wagener returning to Veeva Systems as the new CFO as positive saying his prior experience as VP of Global Sales Operations at Veeva “should flatten the learning curve of a fairly complex end-market.” The firm sees Van Wagener’s familiarity with the business “as a positive to minimize the ramp time.” However, some investors question not bringing in someone with deeper and more recent finance experience after external perceptions of questionable execution, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Opco adds that CMO Stacey Epstein resigning, which was announced Friday,” adds some unneeded volatility during a stretch when investors would prefer stability.” It has an Outperform rating on the shares with a $230 price target.