VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $238.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. VeriSign traded as high as $211.30 and last traded at $210.89, with a volume of 183902 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $205.62.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in VeriSign by 93.2% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Tobam lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 311 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 138.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Up 2.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $190.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.66.

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

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.