VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $210.00 to $238.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $205.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 0.89. VeriSign has a 52 week low of $167.04 and a 52 week high of $210.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.61.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.74% and a negative return on equity of 45.59%. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth $38,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in VeriSign by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Tobam boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 311 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.