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

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

VRSN has been the topic of several other research reports. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $236.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.18. 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 results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share 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 Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 69.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.