VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Price Target Raised to $238.00 at Citigroup

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its target price lifted by analysts at Citigroup from $210.00 to $238.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.04% from the stock’s previous close.

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

VeriSign Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $205.10 on Friday. VeriSign has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $210.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

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

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 102,042 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,224,000 after acquiring an additional 38,036 shares during the period. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,204,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 54.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,175 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,162,000 after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter worth $130,000. 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.