VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

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

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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 Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $211.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $192.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.25. VeriSign has a 1 year low of $167.04 and a 1 year high of $213.68.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the company’s 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 $5,033,391.51. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $233,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,670. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,472,803 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $261,864,000 after acquiring an additional 11,606 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 788,687 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $139,771,000 after purchasing an additional 242,884 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 693,369 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $131,712,000 after purchasing an additional 47,412 shares during the period. Troy Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $109,040,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 26.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 580,613 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $110,293,000 after buying an additional 120,958 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.