Semanteon Capital Management LP Makes New $261,000 Investment in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Stevens Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 243.1% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 13,489 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 9,558 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 36,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,050 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 36,325 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,481,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,482 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,189,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of VRSN opened at $175.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 0.88. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.51 and a 12 month high of $229.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $189.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.03.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $384.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $381.85 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.04% and a negative return on equity of 47.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded VeriSign from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on VeriSign from $237.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on VeriSign from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total value of $122,017.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,930,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Todd B. Strubbe sold 9,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.21, for a total value of $1,820,617.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,552,768.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction of $122,017.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,930,124.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,877 shares of company stock worth $2,878,864. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign 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.