VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $181.01

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $181.01 and last traded at $183.59, with a volume of 117961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

VeriSign Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $190.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.48. The firm has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction 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 $6,930,124.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction of $122,017.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,930,124.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total transaction of $1,820,617.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,552,768.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 158.6% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 91.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 251.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 355 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.