Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 13.6% in April to 6,889,106 shares, equal to about 5.3% of shares sold short and a short‑interest ratio of 3.5 days.
• Verisk beat Q1 estimates with $1.82 EPS (vs. $1.76) and $782.6M revenue, but set FY‑2026 guidance of $7.45–$7.75, roughly in line with consensus (~7.63), which may temper further upside.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 (annualized $2.00, ~1.1% yield) and a $2.5 billion share repurchase authorization (up to ~10.1% of shares).

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,889,106 shares, a growth of 13.6% from the March 31st total of 6,064,945 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,986,876 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 5.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRSK shares. Morgan Stanley set a $235.00 price objective on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Verisk Analytics from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group set a $224.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verisk Analytics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Verisk Analytics

Here are the key news stories impacting Verisk Analytics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded VRSK to "Overweight" and raised its price target to $230 (about a 24.7% upside vs. the current price), which could attract buyer interest and support a rebound. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: Verisk reported $1.82 EPS vs. $1.76 expected and revenue of $782.6M vs. ~$771M consensus, driven by strong demand for analytics in underwriting and claims (margin expansion noted). That beat is a clear positive fundamental catalyst. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Verisk declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share (record June 15; payable June 30), yielding roughly 1.1% — supportive for income‑oriented investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company completed a divestiture of its Verisk Marketing Solutions business (now rebranded InfutorData by buyer ActiveProspect). This trims non‑core operations and clarifies strategic focus, but is not a near‑term earnings driver. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for details on segment performance and management commentary (useful for modeling revenue cadence and margin drivers). Slide Deck / Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 EPS guidance was set at $7.45–$7.75, which is essentially in line with — but not clearly above — Street expectations (consensus ~7.61). Some investors may view the guidance as conservative or lacking upside, which can limit upside momentum after the Q1 beat. GlobeNewswire

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $184.49 on Friday. Verisk Analytics has a 52-week low of $161.70 and a 52-week high of $322.92. The stock has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $190.18 and a 200-day moving average of $207.27.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.06. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.34% and a negative return on equity of 2,405.75%. The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $771.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $180.00 per share, with a total value of $180,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $538,920. This represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total value of $68,628.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,984 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,654.88. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,232 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 11,931 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,385 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 114.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 253 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 135,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,325,000 after purchasing an additional 46,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company's stock.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc NASDAQ: VRSK is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk's product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.

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