VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Given New $280.00 Price Target at Citigroup

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its target price dropped by analysts at Citigroup from $337.00 to $280.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 28.43% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research cut VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

VeriSign Stock Down 2.7%

VeriSign stock traded down $6.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $218.02. The stock had a trading volume of 323,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,151. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $246.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.30.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total value of $1,222,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at $106,176,274.41. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,496 shares of company stock worth $9,248,893. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,326,799 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $670,685,000 after acquiring an additional 44,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 4.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $293,335,000 after acquiring an additional 44,743 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.