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VeriSign (VRSN) Q4 Domain Name Registrations Rise 2.5% Y/Y

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VeriSign (VRSN - Free Report) announced that domain name registrations increased 8.9 million or 2.5% year over year across all top-level domains (TLDs) in the fourth quarter of 2023. Sequentially, domain name registrations were up 0.2% to 359.8 million.

The company continues to benefit from healthy growth across .com and .net domain name registrations. For 2023, the company expects the domain name base growth rate to fall 1% to rise 1% due to continued uncertainty and weakness related to China. China-based registrar demand has been weakening due to volatile economic conditions and a stringent regulatory environment coupled with unfavorable foreign currency movement and retail pricing adjustment.

In the fourth quarter, the .com and .net TLDs decreased 1 million domain name registrations, or 0.6% year over year, to 172.7 million. Also, the .com and .net domain name bases totaled 159.6 million and 13.1 million domain name registrations, respectively, for the quarter that ended on Dec 31, 2023.

The company processed 9 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net compared with 9.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

The final .com and .net renewal rates for third-quarter 2023 were 73.5% compared with 73.7% in the year-ago quarter. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter. Management expects the renewal rate for fourth-quarter 2023 to be around 73.1% compared with 73.3% in the year-ago quarter.

VeriSign is a leading provider of domain name registry services and Internet infrastructure. The company continues to expand its critical infrastructure to tap the growing demand for DNS navigation services in industries like commerce, education and healthcare.

VeriSign announced that from Sep 1, 2024, it will increase the annual registry-level wholesale price for .net domain names by 67 cents to $10.26 from $9.59.

VeriSign currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of VRSN have lost 5.1% against the sub-industry’s growth of 17.5% in the past year.

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks worth considering in the broader technology space are Cadence Design Systems (CDNS - Free Report) , Woodward (WWD - Free Report) and Watts Water Technologies (WTS - Free Report) . Cadence sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Watts Water Technologies and Woodward carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cadence’s 2024 earnings per share (EPS) has improved 1.9% in the past 60 days to $5.87. CDNS’s long-term earnings growth rate is 17.1%.

Cadence’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 3.4%. Shares of CDNS have gained 49.3% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Woodward’s fiscal 2024 EPS has inched up 5.7% in the past 60 days to $5.20. WWD’s long-term earnings growth rate is 15.5%.

Woodward’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 27.2%. Shares of WWD have gained 31.3% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Watts Water Technologies fiscal 2024 EPS has improved 0.4% in the past 60 days to $8.35. WTS’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.8%.

WTS’ earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 13.5%. Shares of WTS have soared 11.9% in the past year.

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