VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock Price Up 6.1% After Strong Earnings

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) shares were up 6.1% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $277.83 and last traded at $277.5030. 302,613 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 816,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $261.58.

The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and reiterated an outperform rating, implying further upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported Q2 2026 EPS of $2.38, slightly ahead of estimates, with revenue of about $435 million, also above expectations and up 6% year over year. Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it expects 2026 revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, which suggests continued growth in its core domain registry business. Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign highlighted strong domain demand, with DNIB.com reporting 401.6 million domain registrations at the end of Q2, up 2.3% sequentially, reinforcing the health of the market. Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone with Verisign as registry operator, a potentially meaningful long-term catalyst if the new domain gains traction. Business Wire
• Neutral Sentiment: Several earnings-call transcript and snapshot articles echoed the same story: steady revenue growth, record domain registrations, and management confidence in future domain-base expansion. Seeking Alpha

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSN. Wedbush upped their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,706,010.73. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $276.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.11. The stock has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.71.

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.