VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Insider Selling

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $184.73 and last traded at $185.27, with a volume of 67060 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.43.

Specifically, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.35, for a total value of $402,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 500,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,736,613.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total value of $1,820,617.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,552,768.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.35, for a total transaction of $402,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 500,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,736,613.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,877 shares of company stock worth $3,281,564 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VRSN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

VeriSign Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 0.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.09. VeriSign had a net margin of 54.74% and a negative return on equity of 46.56%. The company had revenue of $380.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.01 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 7.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 94.6% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.