VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Price Down 4.2% on Analyst Downgrade

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) shares traded down 4.2% on Friday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $200.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. VeriSign traded as low as $174.73 and last traded at $174.98. 818,908 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 592,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.68.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $122,017.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,930,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $122,017.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,930,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,088,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,877 shares of company stock valued at $2,878,864 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $12,830,000. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 1.2% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 7,227 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,086 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,996,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 288,083 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,595,000 after purchasing an additional 49,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 3.5 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $189.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.25. The company has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 46.56% and a net margin of 54.74%. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS.

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.