Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Raymond James Financial

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $260.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s target price points to a potential upside of 25.26% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VRSK. Argus lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $237.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $224.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.93.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $207.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Verisk Analytics has a fifty-two week low of $164.60 and a fifty-two week high of $322.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $206.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.66.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.22. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 357.00% and a net margin of 29.56%.The company had revenue of $778.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $773.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total transaction of $65,862.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,131,738.10. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher John Perry acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $180.00 per share, with a total value of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $538,920. This trade represents a 50.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,241,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,336,366,000 after acquiring an additional 346,525 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,076,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,359,304,000 after purchasing an additional 88,300 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,354,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,346,605,000 after purchasing an additional 158,791 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,121,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $923,576,000 after buying an additional 36,194 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,914,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $875,574,000 after buying an additional 362,050 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.