VeriSign stock sinks to lead S&P 500’s losers after Baird cuts rating, price target

Shares of VeriSign Inc.
VRSN,
-4.84%
dropped 5.4% toward a near three-month low, enough to pace the S&P 500’s
SPX,
+0.42%
decliners, after Baird turned bearish on the domain name registry services company, citing concerns over domain growth. Analyst Rob Oliver cut his rating to neutral, after being at outperform since December 2022, and lowered his stock price target to $245 from $265. “We see less upside to shares in the near term due to weaker domain growth trends, which are now running below the guided range and could drive a further reduction in domain guidance for the year,” Oliver wrote in a note to clients. The stock has gained 3.7% year to date, while the S&P 500 has rallied 15.0%.