Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Price

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its target price upped by research analysts at Citigroup from $210.00 to $238.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.04% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VRSN. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Baird R W raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of VRSN opened at $205.10 on Friday. VeriSign has a twelve month low of $167.04 and a twelve month high of $210.22. The stock has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $189.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.38.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.74% and a negative return on equity of 45.59%. The business had revenue of $390.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $233,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,670. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Tobam lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 311 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 138.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 420 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.