VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Given New $308.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its target price raised by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $285.00 to $308.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the information services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.58% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $264.19. 421,682 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 808,406. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.08. The stock has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,690,172.33. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,896 shares of company stock valued at $4,739,271. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.8% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.