VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird reiterated their neutral rating on shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $200.00 price objective on the information services provider’s stock.

VRSN has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $178.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90 and a beta of 0.91. VeriSign has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $226.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The business had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,971,450. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,181 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,855.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,971,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,295 shares of company stock valued at $584,887 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,028 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 2.8% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in VeriSign by 4.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 18,931 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 52.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,045,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.