VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $240.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $217.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.70. VeriSign has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $242.23.

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 net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter worth $227,000. abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 24.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 23,623 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,477,000 after buying an additional 4,599 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 100,422 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,076,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 854 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in VeriSign by 1.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,300,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.