Verisign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at BidaskClub from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Wednesday, BidAskClub reports.
A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VRSN. Cfra raised their price target on shares of Verisign from $199.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verisign from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Verisign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $216.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisign in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $226.25.
Verisign stock opened at $198.65 on Wednesday. Verisign has a 1-year low of $148.77 and a 1-year high of $221.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $209.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.47.
Verisign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.23. Verisign had a net margin of 63.33% and a negative return on equity of 54.28%. The firm had revenue of $313.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisign will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.09, for a total transaction of $3,211,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,137 shares in the company, valued at $14,801,540.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $1,263,180.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 913,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $192,322,312.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,300 shares of company stock valued at $6,214,685 in the last 90 days. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisign in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verisign by 104.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 231 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verisign by 50.0% in the first quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 324 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verisign by 38.4% in the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 353 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arden Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Verisign in the first quarter worth about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.57% of the company's stock.
Verisign Company Profile
VeriSign, Inc provides domain name registry services and Internet infrastructure in the United States and internationally. The company offers registry services that operate the authoritative directory of and/or the back-end systems for .com, .net, .cc, .tv, .gov, .jobs, .edu, .name, and other domain names.
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