Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought more shares of the dot-com company in the final trading days of 2024, with the company’s shares near their lowest level in seven years. The group purchased 76,487 VeriSign shares for $15.6 million in transactions on Thursday, Friday and Monday, according to a regulatory filing late Monday. Berkshire Hathaway now owns 13.8% of the company after continuing to increase its stake in the company this month. Given that the size of the bets remains small, the trades are likely to be conducted by Buffett’s investing lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Berkshire first bought the technology stock in 2013 and hasn’t adjusted its stake in the company over the years. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, VeriSign provides Internet domain registration services. However, the company had a tough year as its pricing structure came under regulatory scrutiny. The stock ended 2024 flat, missing out on the tech boom that drove the bull market. VRSN YTD mountain VeriSign The stock currently trades at about 24 times forward earnings, having hit a low of 21 times earlier this year, its lowest price-to-earnings ratio since 2017, according to FactSet. Therefore, one could argue that VeriSign aligns with Berkshire’s value investing philosophy, which focuses on cash flow, price-to-earnings ratio, and price-to-book ratio criteria. After the Biden administration finally renewed VeriSign’s contract and agreed to discuss registration prices, some analysts became bullish on the company. “As regulatory issues are resolved and the focus turns to segment growth, the data is starting to show improvement,” Baird equity analyst Rob Oliver said in a note. “We believe a better macro outlook, the potential for channel marketing initiatives, and price The removal of concerns all support a higher risk-adjusted P/E ratio. Earlier this month, Baird upgraded Verisign to outperform from neutral, expecting the stock to perform over the next 12 months. It will rise 21% to $250. The stock closed at $205.10 on Monday.
Berkshire Hathaway Buys More Internet Value Stocks in the Final Trading Days of 2024 | Real Time Headlines
RELATED ARTICLES