VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Trading Down 4.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) were down 4.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $200.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. VeriSign traded as low as $174.73 and last traded at $174.98. Approximately 818,908 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 38% from the average daily volume of 592,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.68.

VRSN has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com cut VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total value of $1,820,617.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,552,768.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $122,017.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,930,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total value of $1,820,617.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,552,768.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alta Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter worth $12,830,000. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.2% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 7,227 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.5% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,086 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,996,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $343,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 20.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 288,083 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,595,000 after acquiring an additional 49,105 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $189.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.97.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.39% and a net margin of 55.04%. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share.

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.