VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $246.00 to $250.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. VeriSign traded as high as $218.50 and last traded at $218.09, with a volume of 1400 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $216.02.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.90. The company has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 0.90.

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.