VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) PT Lowered to $200.00 at Robert W. Baird

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its target price cut by Robert W. Baird from $215.00 to $200.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the information services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VRSN. StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research 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 report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $175.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $189.29 and a 200 day moving average of $200.03. VeriSign has a fifty-two week low of $174.51 and a fifty-two week high of $229.72.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.39% and a net margin of 55.04%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total value of $558,296.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,999,500.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,971,450. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.19, for a total transaction of $558,296.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,999,500.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864 over the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in 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. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,571 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 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.