Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Buys 1,348 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in VeriSign, Inc. by 72.3%, acquiring an additional 1,348 shares to bring its total holdings to 3,213 shares, valued at approximately $930,000.
• VeriSign reported earnings of $2.21 EPS for the quarter, slightly beating estimates, with revenues of $409.90 million, representing a 5.9% year-over-year increase.
• Insider trading activity included CEO D. James Bidzos selling 5,000 shares valued at over $1.3 million, reducing his direct ownership to 508,772 shares.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,213 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,669,263,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $586,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,510 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 71.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $307,098,000 after purchasing an additional 500,223 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.5% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,157,422 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $293,835,000 after purchasing an additional 60,293 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,024,095 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $259,987,000 after purchasing an additional 49,478 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,392,123.80. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,706 shares of company stock valued at $10,591,676. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN stock opened at $266.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $274.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.43.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

VeriSign 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.

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