VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Rating Increased to Outperform at Robert W. Baird

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was upgraded by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $250.00 price objective on the information services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $200.00. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 30.79% from the stock’s current price.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of VRSN opened at $191.14 on Monday. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $220.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 0.92.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 33,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,524. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 291.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 117.2% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 202 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 93.2% during 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. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.