VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday.

VRSN has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $171.08 on Monday. VeriSign has a 1-year low of $169.36 and a 1-year high of $229.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $188.01 and a 200 day moving average of $199.19. The firm has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.04% and a negative return on equity of 47.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $119,737.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,427,122.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $119,737.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,427,122.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,088,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,752 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,989. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 91.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 251.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 355 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.