VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Trading Down 4.2% After Analyst Downgrade

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) traded down 4.2% during trading on Friday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $200.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. VeriSign traded as low as $174.73 and last traded at $174.98. 818,908 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 592,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.68.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $122,017.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,930,124.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $122,017.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,930,124.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,971,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 272,103 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $56,042,000 after buying an additional 25,639 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in VeriSign by 142.0% in the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,874 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,153,000 after acquiring an additional 17,529 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 72,544 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,888 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 1,888 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in VeriSign by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 85,196 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $17,547,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.03.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 46.56% and a net margin of 54.74%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share.

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.