VeriSign CEO Keeps Selling as Zacks Flips to Buy
CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 VeriSign shares on October 6 for $964,691, marking his eighth consecutive week of stock sales between $276 and $308. Zacks upgraded the stock to Buy on October 7 citing
VeriSign CEO Keeps Selling as Zacks Flips to Buy
NEW YORK, October 11 —
VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN) collected a Zacks Buy upgrade on October 7, 2026, citing rising earnings estimate revisions, one day after CEO D. James Bidzos filed his eighth consecutive week of open-market sales, a pattern that has run without interruption since mid-August at every price the stock has touched.
- CEO Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on October 6 at $291.63, $294.09, totaling approximately $964,691 per Form 4 filings
- Stock posted an 8.5% gain over eight consecutive trading days through October 10, 2026
- Net insider activity over 90 days: $8.22 million in sales versus $0.01 million in purchases
The Selling Pattern Has No Off Button
VeriSign operates as the exclusive registry for .com and .net domains and runs two of the thirteen internet root servers, a government-granted monopoly that generates $1.71 billion in trailing revenue at 88.5% gross margins and $833 million in free cash flow. That business is nearly impossible to disrupt, which makes the insider data harder to explain away as routine diversification. Bidzos sold on eight separate dates from August 18 through October 6, spanning a price range of $276.40 to $308.90, his highest prices came on September 22, yet he continued selling a week later at $276, $279 and again at $291, $294 in October. The only insider buying in the 90-day period was 19 fractional shares by a director, totaling roughly $100.
The Upgrade Zacks Sees, the CEO May Not
Zacks cited a single driver for its October 7 upgrade to Rank #2: an upward trend in earnings estimate revisions, which it called "a positive comment on its earnings outlook." The earnings record lends some credibility, three of the last four quarters were beats, most recently $2.38 against a $2.35 estimate. With an earnings preview published approximately five days before October 11 and a quarterly report on the near-term calendar, the upgrade timing is deliberately pre-announcement. General Counsel Thomas Indelicarto also sold 500 shares on October 8 at $293.14 for $146,570 per VeriSign, Inc.'s latest numbers. Two senior insiders selling into the same pre-earnings window is a fact the upgrade does not address.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| VRSN | $27.5B | 27.5x | +15.0% |
| CHKP | $14.0B | 12.2x | -29.6% |
| NTAP | $46.6B | 21.3x | +99.5% |
| AKAM | $15.4B | 15.6x | +44.9% |
| VRTS | $869M | 5.4x | -30.2% |
| INTU | $80.9B | 11.2x | -53.8% |
What the Next Report Will Settle
The stock trades at $303.74 against a consensus analyst target of $324.40, implying roughly 7% upside, a modest gap for a monopoly-grade infrastructure asset carrying a 27.5x forward P/E. The tension resolves at the next earnings release: if domain growth or pricing guidance comes in above the revised estimates that drove the Zacks upgrade, the selling looks like ordinary portfolio management. If guidance disappoints, the CEO's eight-week exit across every price level from $276 to $308 will look like something more deliberate. Run the free VeriSign, Inc. deep-dive → at /stock/vrsn to track the setup heading into results.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is VeriSign's CEO selling stock?
CEO D. James Bidzos has sold stock on eight separate dates from August 18 through October 6, 2026, spanning a price range of $276.40 to $308.90 and totaling $8.22 million in insider sales. He sold 3,300 shares on October 6 at $291.63, $294.09, with General Counsel Thomas Indelicarto also selling 500 shares on October 8 at $293.14, signaling a coordinated pattern across senior management.
Did Zacks really upgrade VeriSign?
Yes, Zacks upgraded VeriSign to Buy (Rank #2) on October 7, 2026, citing "an upward trend in earnings estimate revisions." The upgrade came one day after CEO Bidzos's latest sale, and was timed to precede the quarterly earnings release and guidance update on the calendar.
What is VeriSign's business?
VeriSign operates as the exclusive registry for .com and .net domains and runs two of the thirteen internet root servers, a government-granted monopoly. The company generates $1.71 billion in trailing revenue at 88.5% gross margins and $833 million in free cash flow.
What will resolve the CEO selling versus analyst upgrade contradiction?
The next earnings release will settle the tension. If domain growth or pricing guidance comes in above the revised estimates that drove the upgrade, the CEO's eight-week exit across every price level will look like ordinary portfolio management; if guidance disappoints, the sustained selling pattern will appear more deliberate.
What is the stock's current valuation?
VeriSign trades at $303.74 against a consensus analyst target of $324.40, implying roughly 7% upside. At 27.5x forward P/E, the article describes this as "a modest gap for a monopoly-grade infrastructure asset."
Zacks Research reversed course on VeriSign and upgraded the stock to Buy on October 7, 2026, citing rising earnings estimates — even as CEO D. James Bidzos executed his eighth consecutive Monday of open-market sales and the stock went on to post an 8.5% gain over eight consecutive trading days.