VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Price Target Raised to $295.00

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $280.00 to $295.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.88% from the stock’s current price.

VRSN has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $8.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $259.05. 275,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,782. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $235.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.07.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total value of $1,241,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 416,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,275,771.80. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 11.5% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in VeriSign by 9.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 30.0% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 80,494 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,504,000 after purchasing an additional 18,584 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter worth $17,800,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.