VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Up 6.1% Following Earnings Beat

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) shares were up 6.1% during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $277.83 and last traded at $277.5030. Approximately 302,613 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 816,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $261.58.

The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share.

More VeriSign News

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and reiterated an outperform rating, implying further upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported Q2 2026 EPS of $2.38, slightly ahead of estimates, with revenue of about $435 million, also above expectations and up 6% year over year. Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it expects 2026 revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, which suggests continued growth in its core domain registry business. Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign highlighted strong domain demand, with DNIB.com reporting 401.6 million domain registrations at the end of Q2, up 2.3% sequentially, reinforcing the health of the market. Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone with Verisign as registry operator, a potentially meaningful long-term catalyst if the new domain gains traction. Business Wire
• Neutral Sentiment: Several earnings-call transcript and snapshot articles echoed the same story: steady revenue growth, record domain registrations, and management confidence in future domain-base expansion. Seeking Alpha

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 4.4%

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $276.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.11. The stock has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.