VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Earns “Neutral” Rating from Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird reiterated their neutral rating on shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a $200.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock.

VRSN has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of VeriSign from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Sunday, June 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $177.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $175.51 and a 200 day moving average of $189.17. VeriSign has a fifty-two week low of $167.04 and a fifty-two week high of $226.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.04% and a negative return on equity of 47.21%. The business had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,855.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,855.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 614 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $116,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,971,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,295 shares of company stock worth $584,887. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 152 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.