VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Receives $298.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $298.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th.

Key Headlines Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the quarterly dividend 5.2% to $0.81 per share (annualized yield ~1.5%); dividend payable Feb. 27 with an ex-dividend date of Feb. 19 — supports income-oriented holders. Dividend Increase Article
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying market demand remains intact: DNIB reports 386.9M domain name registrations at end of Q4 2025, up 2.2% quarter‑over‑quarter — a demand tailwind for VeriSign’s .com/.net registry business. DNIB Domain Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue showed modest strength: Q4 revenue of $425.3M beat consensus by ~$1.3M and rose 7.6% year‑over‑year — a sign of stable top‑line momentum. Q4 Slide Deck / Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Company updated FY‑2026 revenue guidance roughly in line with Street expectations (~$1.7B), which keeps growth expectations steady but offers limited upside surprise. Guidance / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed: Q4 GAAP EPS was $2.23 vs. consensus $2.29 (miss of $0.06). Despite healthy margins, management reported a negative return on equity metric that may reflect capital structure/buyback accounting and raised investor concern. Earnings Summary / Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity: an EVP sold 498 shares (~$249 avg) disclosed Feb. 3 — small in size but sometimes interpreted negatively in the short term. Insider Sale Filing

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.08, for a total transaction of $124,041.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,501,044.20. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,496 shares of company stock worth $9,248,893. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Strategy Asset Managers LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in VeriSign by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in VeriSign by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.2% in the third quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,208,000 after buying an additional 13,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth $17,800,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 7.6%

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $224.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $246.06 and a 200 day moving average of $259.51. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.14% and a net margin of 49.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.