VeriSign's (VRSN) Buy (B-) Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• VeriSign's stock was reaffirmed with a "buy (B-)" rating by Weiss Ratings, with other analysts also expressing positive views, including an increased price target from Robert W. Baird.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.21, slightly beating estimates, and also initiated a $1.11 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock value.
• VeriSign's shares are currently trading at $267.88, down 0.9%, with a market capitalization of $25.02 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.50.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $2.41 on Wednesday, hitting $267.88. The company had a trading volume of 578,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,132. VeriSign has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $275.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.43.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total transaction of $576,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,439 shares in the company, valued at $137,443,122.72. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.87, for a total transaction of $135,705.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,396,480.30. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,205 shares of company stock worth $10,577,083 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,352 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 82.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 287,234 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $80,302,000 after purchasing an additional 129,844 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 7,753 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VeriSign

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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