Virnetx (NASDAQ:VHC) Trading 11.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Virnetx Holding Corp (NASDAQ:VHC) shot up 11.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $15.58 and last traded at $15.31. 69,401 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 490% from the average session volume of 11,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VHC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Virnetx in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Virnetx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Virnetx currently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Virnetx Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.48. The company has a market cap of $64.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.97 and a beta of 2.18.

Virnetx (NASDAQ:VHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($1.16) EPS for the quarter.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virnetx

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Virnetx by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 100,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,672,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Virnetx by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Virnetx by 2.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 172,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Virnetx by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Virnetx by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.37% of the company’s stock.

About Virnetx

VirnetX Holding Corp. is a U.S.-based technology company focused on secure communications and network security technologies. The company develops, owns and licenses intellectual property covering methods and systems for encrypted communications, virtual private networks and secure domain name resolution. VirnetX’s work centers on technologies designed to protect data in transit and enable private, authenticated connections across public networks.

VirnetX’s offerings are primarily deployed through licensing arrangements and technology integrations rather than through mass-market consumer products.