JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Price Target to $271.00

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $270.00 to $271.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the information services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.48% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on VRSN. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN traded up $6.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.28. 208,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,599. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $245.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.65. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $205.37 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59 and a beta of 0.77.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total transaction of $125,285.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,904,462.63. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total transaction of $488,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,341,930.75. This trade represents a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 47,338 shares of company stock worth $11,906,698 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 32.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after acquiring an additional 767,363 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 161.4% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $248,388,000 after purchasing an additional 531,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $154,325,000 after purchasing an additional 440,289 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.