VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $214.19 and last traded at $213.99, with a volume of 128792 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $210.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on VeriSign from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.07.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 55.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in VeriSign by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Tobam raised its holdings in VeriSign by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 311 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently 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.