VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $246.00 to $250.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. VeriSign traded as high as $218.50 and last traded at $218.09, with a volume of 1400 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $216.02.

VRSN has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in VeriSign by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in VeriSign by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 272 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $202.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.61. The company has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.