Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway spent the last few trading days of 2024 buying more of an internet company whose shares are trading near their cheapest level in seven years. The conglomerate bought 76,487 shares of Verisign via transactions on Thursday, Friday and Monday for $15.6 million, according to a regulatory filing Monday night. Berkshire now owns 13.8% of the company after scooping up shares consistently throughout this month. Given the still small size of the bet, these transactions could be made by Buffett’s investing lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Berkshire first bought the tech stock in 2013 and hasn’t adjusted the stake in years. Verisign, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, provides dotcom domain registry service. The company has had a rough year, however, as its pricing structure came under regulatory scrutiny. The stock is ending 2024 flat, missing out on the tech boom that has been driving the bull market. VRSN YTD mountain VeriSign The stock is now trading around 24 times forward earnings, after hitting a low of 21 times earlier this year, its lowest price-to-earnings ratio since 2017, according to FactSet. So, one can argue that VeriSign fits into Berkshire’s value investment philosophy, focused on cash flow and price-to-earnings and price-to-book-value yardsticks. Some analysts are turning bullish on VeriSign after the Biden administration eventually renewed its contract with the company, agreeing to discussions on registration prices. “With regulatory concerns now behind, the focus shifts to domain growth, where data is beginning to show improvement,” Rob Oliver, Baird equity analyst, said in a note. “We believe the prospects of better macro, potential for channel marketing plans, and the removal of price concerns support a higher risk-adjusted multiple.” Baird upgraded its rating on Verisign to outperform from neutral earlier this month, seeing the stock rising 21% to $250 in the next 12 months. The stock closed Monday at $205.10.
