Key Points
- VeriSign EVP John Calys sold 500 shares at an average price of $281.56, generating $140,780; the sale reduced his direct holdings by 1.58% to 31,087 shares.
- VeriSign’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded expectations, with earnings of $2.38 per share and revenue of $434.6 million, up 6% year over year. Shares opened at $290.92, near their 52-week high, with a market capitalization of $26.27 billion.
- Analyst sentiment remains positive: the consensus rating is “Buy” with a $328.75 price target, while Zacks upgraded the stock to “Strong Buy.” The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding approximately 1.1%.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.
VeriSign Stock Up 3.5%
Shares of VRSN stock opened at $290.92 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.17. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.71.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
More VeriSign News
Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded VeriSign to “Strong Buy” from “Hold,” citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. The upgrade gives investors a fresh bullish signal and may be the main catalyst supporting the stock. VeriSign Upgraded to Strong Buy
- Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis upgraded the stock, arguing that the market may be overlooking aspects of VeriSign’s business and post-earnings outlook. The company’s recurring domain-registry revenue, strong margins and earnings beat provide support for the bullish view. VeriSign Analysis and Upgrade
- Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst targets remain above the trading range, with a reported consensus target of $328.75 and several firms maintaining Buy or Outperform ratings. This suggests potential upside, although the stock is already near its 52-week high.
- Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign outperformed several competitors during a broadly weaker session, indicating relative investor resilience, though the report did not identify a new fundamental catalyst. VeriSign Outperforms Competitors
- Negative Sentiment: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares, while EVPs John Calys and Thomas Indelicarto each sold 500 shares. The transactions reduced their individual holdings modestly, but the CEO and EVP sales were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a bearish signal. VeriSign SEC Insider Sale Filing
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on VRSN. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.75.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on VRSN
About VeriSign
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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