VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $247.30 and last traded at $245.36, with a volume of 832186 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $244.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $228.68 and its 200 day moving average is $203.56.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 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.