|
PowerRatings
Live & Model Accounts
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
PowerRatings
Prominent Portfolios
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday's Stock Highlight: Verisign By Rob Martorana
June 28, 2007 4:00 PM ET
|
Stocks are up modestly Thursday after the Federal Reserve decision to leave
rates unchanged. One of the big movers is Verisign Inc. (VRSN | charts | news | PowerRating),
which is up 4.8% mid-day to $31.90. The data networks giant got a lift from
bullish comments at Deutsche Bank. The sell-side analyst there believes that
Verisign could get a boost from selling some unprofitable businesses. Verisign
is one of our top-rated stocks, so it's worth a closer look.
Verisign was upgraded on Tuesday to a PowerRating (for Investors) of 10. This
is our highest rating, and the stock has already risen 5.8% over the last two
days. Our research shows that on days when stocks were rated a 10, the average
gain one year later has
historically been 20.2%. This is based on simulated results from 1995
through 2006.
Verisign is a software firm with revenues of about $1.5 billion. Its products
include security software for online transactions and registration of domain
names for the Internet. Other services help prevent identity theft, provide
secure transactions for banks, secure information for pharmaceutical companies,
and provide protections for media companies, consumers and corporations.
On May 29 Verisign's CEO abruptly resigned during an investigation into stock
options. His departure appears unrelated to any scandal, however, and may have
reflected dissatisfaction with the direction of the firm. In fact, Verisign
shares rose after the board of directors elevated one of their own to top spot:
William A. Roper, Jr. Given the stock's low valuation vs. its software peers,
shareholders believe that a strategic shift could boost the stock.
Verisign shares are volatile, with a beta of 1.63. In fact, the stock was
recently highlighted as the most volatile software stock in the S&P 500. The
stock has a market capitalization of $7.7 billion and average daily trading volume of 3.8 million
shares. Because of the stock options investigation, Verisign is restating results
going back to 2002. The last quarterly results reported in May were incomplete,
but showed that sales rose 2%.
The stock is up 33% thus far in 2007, and are within striking distance of the
52-week high of $32.12. So for long-term investors who seek growth and safety,
it might be time to consider a top-rated stock such as Verisign.
Rob Martorana is Director of Content
for PowerRatings.net.
Rob was most recently at TheStreet.com as the
Director of Content for Professional Products. Robert has spent 22 years on Wall
Street, and was a portfolio manager and head of U.S. equity research at Barclays
Private Bank. Robert also managed small-cap stocks at Schroder Capital
Management International, was an equity analyst at Vontobel USA, and was an
editor and senior industry analyst for The Value Line Investment Survey.
Contact us Toll-free 1-888-358-1193
Outside the U.S. please call 1-201-680-7112
|
|
