VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $232.04 and last traded at $230.74, with a volume of 127695 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $229.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $210.95 and a 200 day moving average of $193.21.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.00. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 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.