VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) shares dropped Tuesday following news that affiliates of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) are selling a large chunk of their holdings.
The investment firm is offloading 4.3 million shares of the internet infrastructure company at $285 per share, a transaction valued at approximately $1.22 billion.
The sale aims to bring Berkshire’s ownership below the 10% regulatory threshold, which would otherwise trigger additional disclosure and compliance obligations.
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VeriSign is not offering any new shares in this deal and will not receive any proceeds. An additional 515,032 shares may be sold if underwriters exercise their option to purchase more. Once the offering closes on July 30, Berkshire has agreed to a 365-day lock-up period on its remaining stake.
VeriSign’s Operational Performance
Separately, VeriSign posted second-quarter earnings of $2.21 per share, topping forecasts. However, revenue came in at $409.9 million, narrowly missing expectations.
The company also raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $1.645 billion and $1.655 billion, reflecting continued operational strength.
VeriSign operates key internet infrastructure, including .com and .net domain registries and two of the internet’s 13 global root servers.
Related ETFs include the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (NYSE:FDN) and the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ:BUG).
VRSN has a 52-week high of $308.00 and a 52-week low of $172.49. Year to date, VRSN is up approximately 49%, and it currently trades about 8.2% above its 50-day simple moving average. Despite the recent pullback following the secondary offering, the stock remains on a modest upward trajectory.
Price Action: VRSN shares are trading lower by 6.20% to $287 premarket at last check Tuesday.
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