VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird raised 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.2 %

VRSN stock opened at $211.67 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $193.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.43. The stock has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61 and a beta of 0.89. VeriSign has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $213.68.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 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 $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,033,391.51. This represents 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 Trading of VeriSign

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Concord Wealth Partners raised 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 in the last quarter. Tobam increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 61.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth about $76,000. 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.