VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Trading Up 6.1% After Strong Earnings

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) traded up 6.1% during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $277.83 and last traded at $277.5030. 302,613 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 816,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $261.58.

The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.73% and a net margin of 49.76%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported second-quarter results that topped estimates, with EPS of $2.38 versus $2.36 expected and revenue of $434.6 million, up 6% year over year. The stronger-than-expected quarter suggests steady demand for domain registrations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company lifted its FY2026 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, reinforcing confidence that growth can continue after the latest quarter. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone, with the company as registry operator. That adds a potential long-term growth opportunity for domain registrations and registry revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and kept an outperform rating, implying additional upside relative to the current trading level. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also raised its price target to $316 from $308, even while maintaining a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations for the stock’s value. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which supports the stock’s income profile but is not a major growth driver by itself.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRSN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,513,229.51. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,706,010.73. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $276.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.26.

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.