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

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

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

VeriSign Stock Up 0.0 %

VRSN opened at $242.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.69. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $243.05. The company has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its stake in VeriSign by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 573 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.