VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Shares Sold by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP lowered its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,699 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,175 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its stake in VeriSign by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 181 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. CX Institutional bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded up $2.84 on Friday, reaching $177.69. 250,106 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 658,278. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $220.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $175.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.26. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.90.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 55.04%. The company had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total value of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,855.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.14, for a total transaction of $204,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,855.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.01, for a total value of $147,228.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,406.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,067 shares of company stock valued at $351,567 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% 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.