VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.
Separately, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on VeriSign
VeriSign Stock Performance
NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $2.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.97. 602,094 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 570,898. VeriSign has a one year low of $185.19 and a one year high of $229.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 0.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $194.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.17.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.09. VeriSign had a net margin of 54.74% and a negative return on equity of 46.56%. The business had revenue of $380.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.01 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign will post 7.82 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity at VeriSign
In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 508,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,661,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 508,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,661,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.44, for a total transaction of $25,430.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,937.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,001 shares of company stock valued at $4,518,942. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,161,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,152,000 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,934,092,000 after purchasing an additional 587,635 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,005,583 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $207,110,000 after purchasing an additional 242,604 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,826,836 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $369,989,000 after purchasing an additional 233,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 99.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 442,523 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $89,624,000 after purchasing an additional 220,106 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About VeriSign
(
Get Free Report)
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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