Robert W. Baird Lowers VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Price Target to $200.00

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $215.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.97% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on VRSN. StockNews.com lowered VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $175.48 on Friday. VeriSign has a 1 year low of $174.51 and a 1 year high of $229.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $189.29 and its 200-day moving average is $199.97. The company has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 0.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.04% and a negative return on equity of 47.39%. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total transaction of $1,820,617.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,552,768.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total transaction of $1,820,617.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,552,768.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $119,737.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,427,122.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,877 shares of company stock valued at $2,878,864 over the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 91.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 46.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 15,683 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,176,000 after buying an additional 4,962 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.1% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,439 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in VeriSign by 63.5% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 5,765 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in VeriSign by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 39,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,006,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by 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.