VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $209.22 on Tuesday. VeriSign has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $213.68. The company has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $191.68 and a 200 day moving average of $185.06.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released 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 firm had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 602.6% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,225,000 after buying an additional 10,045 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3,996.0% in the fourth quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,996 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 580,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $110,293,000 after acquiring an additional 120,958 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 89.8% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 21,718 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 10,277 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 102,042 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,224,000 after purchasing an additional 38,036 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.