VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $232.04 and last traded at $230.74, with a volume of 127695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Baird R W raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded VeriSign from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

VeriSign Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 44.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,391.51. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,905 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 19,452 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 704,279 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $145,758,000 after acquiring an additional 81,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,027,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.