Robert W. Baird Trims VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Target Price to $200.00

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $215.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 13.97% from the stock’s previous close.

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

VeriSign Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $175.48 on Friday. VeriSign has a 1-year low of $174.51 and a 1-year high of $229.72. The stock has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.29 and a 200-day moving average of $199.97.

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. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.04% and a negative return on equity of 47.39%. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,971,450. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,955 shares in the company, valued at $7,971,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,877 shares of company stock valued at $2,878,864 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in VeriSign by 91.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in VeriSign by 46.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 15,683 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 4.1% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,439 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in VeriSign by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 5,765 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in VeriSign by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 39,529 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,006,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.