VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN is Renaissance Technologies LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,800 shares during the period. VeriSign accounts for approximately 1.1% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 3.10% of VeriSign worth $699,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $280.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $276.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.26. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The firm has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.73% and a net margin of 49.76%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,513,229.51. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total transaction of $67,307.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported second-quarter results that topped estimates, with EPS of $2.38 versus $2.36 expected and revenue of $434.6 million, up 6% year over year. The stronger-than-expected quarter suggests steady demand for domain registrations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company lifted its FY2026 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, reinforcing confidence that growth can continue after the latest quarter. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone, with the company as registry operator. That adds a potential long-term growth opportunity for domain registrations and registry revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and kept an outperform rating, implying additional upside relative to the current trading level. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also raised its price target to $316 from $308, even while maintaining a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations for the stock’s value. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which supports the stock’s income profile but is not a major growth driver by itself.

About VeriSign

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.