VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Weak Earnings

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $208.86 and last traded at $213.06, with a volume of 669377 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $242.62.

The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign raised its quarterly dividend 5.2% to $0.81 (annualized yield ~1.4%), signaling continued shareholder returns and capital‑allocation priority. VeriSign raises dividend by 5.2% to $0.81
• Positive Sentiment: Domain industry data showed continued expansion: 386.9M domain registrations at end of Q4 (up 2.2% QoQ), supporting VeriSign’s registry revenue durability. DNIB.com Reports 386.9 Million Domain Registrations
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat: Q4 revenue was $425.3M, modestly above consensus and +7.6% YoY — shows top‑line trend despite mixed comps. VeriSign Q4 revenue and results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management updated FY‑2026 guidance (reiterated revenue near ~$1.7B), which appears roughly in line with Street expectations but offered limited clarity on EPS range in initial releases — watch full guidance details in the slides/transcript. VeriSign FY‑2026 slides/press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings-call transcript and highlights are available for detail on trends (R&D, contract renewals, unit pricing) that will drive forward expectations. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed: Q4 EPS of $2.23 missed consensus by $0.06, a near‑term catalyst for selling pressure as investors calibrate earnings quality vs. valuation. Q4 earnings highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: an EVP sold ~498 shares (~$124k), a small disclosure but noted by market scanners; not large enough alone to drive fundamentals. EVP insider sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research cut VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.00.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total value of $1,222,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,176,274.41. This represents a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 37,496 shares of company stock worth $9,248,893 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 394.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $154,325,000 after acquiring an additional 440,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $124,066,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $246.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.12.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.