Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Verisk Analytics gapped up at the open, rising from a prior close of $168.99 to $175.60 before easing to around $172.48 in early trading.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock currently carries a Hold consensus, with an average price target of $234.87, while recent firms have ranged from bullish upgrades to lower targets and neutral ratings.
• The company recently beat earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter, and it also announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.2% annualized yield.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $168.99, but opened at $175.60. Verisk Analytics shares last traded at $172.4820, with a volume of 198,856 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $185.00 price target on Verisk Analytics and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $234.87.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50-day moving average is $175.05 and its 200 day moving average is $194.61.

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

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.22, for a total value of $63,688.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,118,164.48. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 2,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.99, for a total transaction of $408,776.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,868 shares in the company, valued at $2,776,741.32. This represents a 12.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 16,907 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,338 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,522 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,249,000 after buying an additional 18,461 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 295.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 20,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,067,000 after acquiring an additional 15,058 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 7,265.5% in the fourth quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 31,156 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,969,000 after acquiring an additional 30,733 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2,071.9% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 37,270 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 35,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 620.0% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 10,721 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 9,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

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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