VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Has Average Target Price of $348.00 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Four of six analysts rate VeriSign a buy and two recommend holding the stock, with an average 12-month price target of $348. Recent targets include $380 from Baird and $351 from Wedbush.
• Third-quarter revenue grew 5.7% to $443 million and exceeded estimates, but EPS of $2.35 fell short of the $2.46 consensus. Higher operating expenses raised concerns about margin pressure.
• VeriSign reaffirmed approximately $1.8 billion in 2026 revenue guidance and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, while insiders continued selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $348.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $341.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of VeriSign from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd.

Trending Headlines about VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 5.7% year over year to $443 million, exceeding analyst expectations, while operating income increased to $296 million. Record domain registrations and the planned launch of the .web domain supported the company’s growth outlook. VeriSign Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its VeriSign price target to $380 from $355 and maintained an Outperform rating, while Citigroup lifted its target to $345 from $325. The revisions signal continued analyst confidence in domain growth and the company’s long-term earnings potential. Baird Adjusts VeriSign Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of approximately $1.8 billion, in line with consensus estimates. The company also approved a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, or $3.24 annually, yielding about 1.1%. VeriSign Updates 2026 Earnings Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly earnings per share missed consensus estimates despite year-over-year growth, creating the main source of selling pressure. Operating expenses also increased to $147 million from $135 million a year earlier, raising concerns about margin pressure. VeriSign Lags Q3 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares for approximately $1.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Although the sale was scheduled, it adds a modest insider-selling signal after several similar transactions. VeriSign Insider Sale

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $300.32 on Friday. VeriSign has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The firm has a market cap of $27.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.58.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $443.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $440.58 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 49.06%. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that VeriSign will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $146,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,349,700.30. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.30, for a total value of $1,010,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 371,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $113,890,610.10. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 43,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,574,391 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Groupe la Francaise grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 4.3% in the second quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 6.1% during the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 19.0% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.

The company's services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.

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