VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 1,650,846 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 89% from the previous session’s volume of 872,208 shares.The stock last traded at $248.5640 and had previously closed at $245.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.67.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.7%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $263.06 and a 200 day moving average of $273.30. The firm has a market cap of $22.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, EVP John Calys sold 1,001 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.71, for a total transaction of $242,952.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,734 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,189.14. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $502,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 451,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,433,077.53. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,839 shares of company stock valued at $10,918,189. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in VeriSign by 118.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $55,924,000 after purchasing an additional 119,368 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth approximately $351,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 21.4% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,844,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.