VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VRSN. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $200.53. 526,812 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 662,995. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.49. VeriSign has a twelve month low of $167.04 and a twelve month high of $220.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,776 shares of company stock worth $1,102,524 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 291.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 117.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in VeriSign by 93.2% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other 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.