VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Upgraded to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

VRSN has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.2 %

VRSN stock traded up $3.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $250.23. 557,613 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 742,457. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $167.05 and a 52-week high of $258.67. The stock has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day moving average is $238.85 and its 200 day moving average is $210.24.

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

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Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total value of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 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.