VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $210.00 and last traded at $210.00, with a volume of 13323 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $205.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of VeriSign from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

VeriSign Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.07. The company has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $233,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,382,670. The trade was a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 602.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,712 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,225,000 after buying an additional 10,045 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in VeriSign by 26.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 580,613 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $110,293,000 after acquiring an additional 120,958 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in VeriSign by 89.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 21,718 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 10,277 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 59.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 102,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $19,224,000 after purchasing an additional 38,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 73.3% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 19,051 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,619,000 after purchasing an additional 8,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

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.