VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $240.52 and last traded at $239.38, with a volume of 206124 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $237.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 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.