VeriSign CEO Sells at $308 as Zacks Cuts to Hold
VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on Sept. 22 at prices reaching $308.90 — his sixth consecutive Monday of selling — even as the stock trades roughly 13% below the analyst consensus targe
VeriSign CEO Sells at $308 as Zacks Cuts to Hold
NEW YORK, September 27 —
When VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN) CEO D. James Bidzos sold exactly 3,300 shares for the sixth consecutive Monday on Sept. 22, at prices reaching $308.90, the regularity of a 10b5-1 plan explains the mechanism but not the full picture: the stock trades 13% below the analyst consensus target, and Zacks Research cut its rating to Hold the same week.
- Six consecutive Monday sales by CEO Bidzos; net 90-day insider activity: $6.05M sold, $0.01M purchased.
- EPS of $2.38 beat consensus by 1.3% last quarter, the second consecutive quarterly beat; TTM gross margins 88.5%.
- Consensus analyst target $324.40 vs. current price $287.25, a $37.15 gap implying roughly 13% upside.
The Selling Pattern
Pre-scheduled trades under a 10b5-1 plan are routine. What is less routine is the asymmetry: Bidzos's plan called for exactly 3,300 shares every Monday regardless of price, meaning the CEO collected more dollars as the stock climbed from $276.40 in mid-August to $308.90 by Sept. 22. Against $6.05M in net insider sales over 90 days, the only purchases came from Director Courtney Armstrong, approximately 19.3 shares totaling $5,671. EVP and General Counsel Thomas Indelicarto also sold 1,000 shares across Sept. 1 and Sept. 8, pushing the ledger further toward one side.
The Toll-Booth Economics
VeriSign, Inc. manages the .com and .net registries, the authoritative directories that resolve virtually every commercial internet address, with 926 employees generating $1.71B in annual revenue. The near-fixed-cost nature of running a domain registry shows in the numbers: gross margins of 88.5%, operating cash flow margin of roughly 64%, and free cash flow of $833M TTM. Cash on hand is $1.03B against $2.34B in total debt, manageable for a business posting consistent quarterly earnings and currently priced at 26.0x forward earnings; a P/E calculator puts that multiple in sector context.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| VRSN | $26.0B | 26.0x | +2.7% |
| CHKP | $13.4B | 11.6x | -33.8% |
| NTAP | $39.5B | 18.1x | +66.3% |
| AKAM | $16.4B | 16.6x | +44.8% |
| VRTS | $865M | 5.4x | -32.2% |
| INTU | $73.7B | 10.2x | -60.1% |
What the Next Quarter Tests
Zacks Research's downgrade to Hold on approximately Sept. 26 is the first visible crack in the analyst consensus target of $324.40, roughly 13% above the current $287.25. VeriSign has beaten estimates in three of the past four quarters, the beat margin narrowing from 4.0% to 1.3% in the two most recent reports. The next earnings release will test whether that streak continues and whether the six weeks of Monday selling proves to be disciplined financial planning or a deliberate signal from the person who runs the company. Run the free VeriSign, Inc. deep-dive → /stock/vrsn.
Basis Report is independent research for informational purposes. It is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on Sept. 22 at prices reaching $308.90 — his sixth consecutive Monday of selling — even as the stock trades roughly 13% below the analyst consensus target and the company has posted back-to-back quarterly earnings beats. Zacks Research cut its rating to Hold the same week, sharpening the question of whether the stock's valuation has gotten ahead of its story.