Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 33,064 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 16.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 237,966 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,064 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $59,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 168.0% during the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 335 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 13,650.0% in the first quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 6.4% in the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,788 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in VeriSign in the first quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, June 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.25.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $277.66 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.44. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign 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.