Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $174.65 and last traded at $178.20, with a volume of 3526059 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $179.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VRSK. BMO Capital Markets raised Verisk Analytics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $233.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $315.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $315.00 to $239.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verisk Analytics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $274.07.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.55, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $216.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.40. The company has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $238,689.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 77,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,883,340.93. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total value of $65,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,738.10. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,700 shares of company stock worth $369,648 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision?support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry?specific applications.