VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Insider Selling

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $184.73 and last traded at $185.27, with a volume of 67060 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.43.

Specifically, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total value of $1,820,617.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,552,768.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction of $122,017.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,930,124.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total transaction of $1,820,617.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,552,768.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,002 shares of company stock worth $3,714,154 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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 Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $192.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.47.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $380.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $381.01 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 54.74% and a negative return on equity of 46.56%. As a group, analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 52.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 2,628.6% during the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its position in VeriSign by 158.6% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

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.