Analysts Set VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) PT at $325.25

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $325.25.

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wedbush initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $976,700,000 after acquiring an additional 496,674 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 191.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $152,225,000 after acquiring an additional 411,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,651,000 after purchasing an additional 383,771 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.0%

VeriSign stock opened at $277.61 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $278.56 and a 200 day moving average of $258.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that VeriSign will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.