D James Bidzos Sells 3,300 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.44, for a total value of $892,452.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 416,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,567,675.16. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

D James Bidzos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 28th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total transaction of $927,960.00.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total value of $828,102.00.
• On Tuesday, June 23rd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total transaction of $820,149.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $904,926.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.29, for a total value of $938,157.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $290.92 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.17. The company has a market cap of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $328.75.

Key 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

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.