Aristides Capital LLC Invests $310,000 in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Aristides Capital LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,500 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,840,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at about $141,129,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in VeriSign by 544.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,319 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $81,003,000 after purchasing an additional 330,561 shares during the period. Troy Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 914,543 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $189,274,000 after purchasing an additional 301,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 322.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 261,526 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $53,639,000 after purchasing an additional 199,583 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

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VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock traded up $4.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $247.13. 626,259 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,225. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $238.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $258.67. The company has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The information services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.