StockNews.com Downgrades VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) to Hold

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other research firms have also commented on VRSN. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $206.96 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $189.13 and a 200 day moving average of $184.07. VeriSign has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $209.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07 and a beta of 0.92.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 55.74%. The firm had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $233,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Troy Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $109,040,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in VeriSign by 836.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 473,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $84,133,000 after buying an additional 422,676 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth $67,914,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth $46,455,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 44.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 788,687 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $139,771,000 after acquiring an additional 242,884 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VeriSign

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.