Robert W. Baird Boosts VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Price Target to $355.00

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised its price target on VeriSign to $355 (from $305) and kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 28% upside; MarketBeat's consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $307 target.
• VeriSign beat Q1 expectations with EPS of $2.34 (vs. $2.30 est.) and revenue of $428.9M, announced a $0.81 quarterly dividend, and DNIB data showed sequential domain‑registration growth supporting registry revenue.
• Insiders have trimmed positions recently (2,490 shares sold over three months) while institutional investors own about 92.9% of the stock, indicating high institutional conviction despite some insider selling.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $305.00 to $355.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the information services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's price target indicates a potential upside of 28.18% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $307.00.

VeriSign Stock Up 2.6%

VRSN stock opened at $276.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.93. VeriSign has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that VeriSign will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total transaction of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,316,832.12. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,490 shares of company stock worth $626,690. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after buying an additional 861,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $976,700,000 after buying an additional 496,674 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,491,035 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $362,247,000 after buying an additional 246,887 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $312,900,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results: EPS $2.34 beat consensus and revenue was roughly flat to modestly up year‑over‑year, supporting stronger margins and operating income growth — a primary catalyst for the stock rally. Business Wire: Verisign Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared: VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share (ex‑dividend and record dates set), reinforcing shareholder returns (annualized yield ~1.2%).
• Positive Sentiment: Registry fundamentals: Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB) data shows 392.5 million domain registrations at end of Q1, up sequentially — a supportive data point for long‑term registry revenue growth. Business Wire: DNIB Q1 Domain Registrations
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 outlook: Management updated fiscal guidance with revenue pegged at roughly $1.7B (close to consensus), so guidance was more confirmatory than bullish — limits upside surprise potential. Business Wire: Verisign Results & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views: Recent price targets cluster near the current trading range (median ~$283), indicating limited consensus upside from here.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional activity: Public filings and third‑party trackers show substantial insider sales by several executives and notable institutional position reductions by some large managers — a potential headwind for sentiment. QuiverQuant: VRSN Stock Rises on Q1 2026 Earnings (includes insider activity)
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed financial details: Some third‑party tallies showed operating cash and cash balances declined year‑over‑year and noted a narrow revenue shortfall versus certain consensus figures — facts that could cap multiple expansion. QuiverQuant: VRSN Q1 Financials

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign's registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.