Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $275.00 to $285.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the information services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.11% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on VRSN. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $279.10. The stock had a trading volume of 382,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,324. VeriSign has a fifty-two week low of $167.05 and a fifty-two week high of $280.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $244.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 544.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $81,003,000 after buying an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 3,996.0% in the fourth quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 3,996 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 322.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,639,000 after buying an additional 199,583 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in VeriSign by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,462 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $600,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.