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

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

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

VeriSign Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $209.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $191.68 and its 200 day moving average is $185.06. The stock has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 0.89. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $167.04 and a 52-week high of $213.68.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $390.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 55.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,382,670. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake 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 last quarter. Tobam grew its position in VeriSign by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 311 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter worth $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is 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.