Jefferies & Company Downgrades (VRSN) To Hold

Jefferies & Company analysts Katherine Egbert and Ignatius Njoku downgraded shares of VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) from Buy to Hold with a price target of $27.

The analysts had previously advised investors to buy shares of VeriSign because of an expected domain price increase, more aggressive share buyback programs and potentially higher margins.

The analysts said that because two of those three things had happened, they were reevaluating the stock and downgraded it to a Hold.

The Jefferies & Company analysts wrote, "continued aggressive share repurchases and higher margins could boost earnings in 2010 and 2011, but investors should be aware of mgmt's need to carefully balance price increases and profits against the public nature of domain pricing. Given the recent run in VRSN shares and uncertainty around future upside levers, we are exhibiting valuation discipline and downgrading the stock to Hold from Buy. Our price target remains at $27."