VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $242.52 and last traded at $242.21, with a volume of 659531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $239.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded 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 research note on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $225.10 and its 200-day moving average is $201.41.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during 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 period. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.