VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $210.00 and last traded at $210.00, with a volume of 13323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $188.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,033,391.51. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $233,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,382,670. The trade was 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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position 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 buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Tobam grew its holdings in VeriSign by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 311 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.