VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $255.00 to $275.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. VeriSign traded as high as $256.90 and last traded at $257.39, with a volume of 59994 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $253.87.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $233.13 and a 200-day moving average of $206.09. The firm has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%.

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.