Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $1,337,150.00 in Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign CEO D James Bidzos sold a total of $1,337,150 worth of stock in a recent transaction, reducing his ownership by 1.07% to 462,439 shares.
• Following the sale, VeriSign stock experienced a 0.5% drop, trading at $250.58, with a 52-week range of $175.62 to $310.60.
• VeriSign's board has authorized a $1.11 billion stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.43, for a total value of $1,337,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 462,439 shares in the company, valued at $123,670,061.77. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

D James Bidzos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, October 22nd, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $523,080.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.06, for a total value of $528,120.00.
• On Tuesday, October 14th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total value of $1,327,850.00.
• On Wednesday, September 17th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total transaction of $576,960.00.
• On Tuesday, September 16th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.34, for a total transaction of $1,436,700.00.
• On Wednesday, September 10th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.87, for a total transaction of $567,740.00.
• On Tuesday, September 9th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.24, for a total value of $1,416,200.00.
• On Wednesday, August 20th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total value of $541,420.00.
• On Tuesday, August 19th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.43, for a total value of $1,342,150.00.
• On Wednesday, August 13th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total value of $532,900.00.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $1.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $250.58. 1,384,744 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 846,249. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.62 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $274.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.39.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $55,924,000 after purchasing an additional 119,368 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 35.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

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.

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