VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $200.53. The stock had a trading volume of 526,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,995. The firm has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.49. VeriSign has a twelve month low of $167.04 and a twelve month high of $220.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $233,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,670. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,776 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,524. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 291.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 117.2% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 202 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 93.2% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.