VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Price Target Raised to $316.00

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $308.00 to $316.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the information services provider’s stock.

VRSN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $280.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $259.40. The stock has a market cap of $25.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that VeriSign will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,495,000 after acquiring an additional 22,020 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in VeriSign by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,179,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S increased its stake in VeriSign by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 64,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,609,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in VeriSign by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported second-quarter results that topped estimates, with EPS of $2.38 versus $2.36 expected and revenue of $434.6 million, up 6% year over year. The stronger-than-expected quarter suggests steady demand for domain registrations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company lifted its FY2026 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, reinforcing confidence that growth can continue after the latest quarter. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone, with the company as registry operator. That adds a potential long-term growth opportunity for domain registrations and registry revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and kept an outperform rating, implying additional upside relative to the current trading level. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also raised its price target to $316 from $308, even while maintaining a neutral rating, signaling improved expectations for the stock’s value. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which supports the stock’s income profile but is not a major growth driver by itself.

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.