VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on VRSN. Citigroup increased their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VRSN opened at $244.51 on Friday. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $167.05 and a 12 month high of $245.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.36. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in VeriSign by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.