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

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) fell 4.2% during mid-day trading 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 changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 592,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.68.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $119,737.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,427,122.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $119,737.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,427,122.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $116,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,971,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 52.0% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 158.6% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 91.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 251.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 355 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Trading Down 3.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.25. The company has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share.

About VeriSign

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.