VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

VRSN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded up $2.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $240.16. 1,090,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 808,711. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $167.04 and a 12 month high of $242.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $217.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 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.