VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $237.38 and last traded at $234.29, with a volume of 84227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSN. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

VeriSign Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $216.48 and its 200-day moving average is $195.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total transaction of $402,563.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.9% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,038 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.9% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,537 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,173 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.