Ieq Capital LLC Acquires 1,166 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Rating) by 19.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,292 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter worth $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 2,628.6% during the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 20.9% during the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 394 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $243.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 15th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $215.51 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.52. The company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 0.95. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.25 and a 12-month high of $228.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The information services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $357.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.40 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.71% and a net margin of 59.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.87, for a total value of $644,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 656,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,050,122.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other VeriSign news, CFO George E. Kilguss III sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.79, for a total transaction of $3,041,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 136,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,648,794.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.87, for a total value of $644,610.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 656,444 shares in the company, valued at $141,050,122.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 67,596 shares of company stock valued at $13,989,196 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

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VeriSign, Inc provides domain name registry services and Internet infrastructure, which enables Internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names. It enables the security, stability, and resiliency of key Internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services.