VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) stock is up 43% year to date and almost 50% in the past 12 months while most tech firms are digging themselves out of a hole.
Aside from cybersecurity, which VRSN actually has a dedicated division in, most tech sectors have been hurt by the U.S.-China trade war and slowing economy.
You see, China is a big market for tech firms to sell into, and they have relied on China for production of their hardware. Given what a chip factory costs to build and the time it takes to build one, waiting and hoping becomes a viable option.
But this affects demand for finished products as well. The U.S. economy is slowing, China’s is slowing, and Europe’s is already slow.
The enthusiasm for lower rates in the U.S. is an upside-down view of the global economy now. Of course, the Federal Reserve would lower rates if the economy is stalling. That has always been the case.
But now, it seems that this is a bullish sign. What people are celebrating is the fact that the U.S. economy is slowing. I’m not sure when this was a reason for a market rally, but we’re in one.
This is when it’s good to have perspective on where we are and how best to take advantage of these conditions.
VRSN Stock Is All Over the Web
And that’s why I’m talking about VeriSign stock now. You see, VRSN has a virtual monopoly in domain name registry services. Whether it’s a .com, .net, or .eu, almost half of the domain names registered are done so through VeriSign.
As a result, this company is directly tied to the growth of the world wide web. And that moat, at this point, is enormous.
What’s more, because internet advertising is on the rise, the growth of websites is at historic highs. There are nearly 1.7 billion websites live today. But of these, fewer than 200 million are active.
And that disparity shows you the reason VRSN is doing so well.
Usually, when a company launches a website it not only registers the name but similar names, misspelled names, various suffixes and the like. It then renews those names.
In addition, many businesses register names for products or marketing campaigns. For example, drug companies usually set up websites for their new and existing drugs. And each of those likely have a number of similar names registered to send you to their site as well.
This process of registering names continues apace today, and it will only grow as more business finds its way to the web.
There’s also the fact that many people are registering their own names simply to keep them out of the hands other people who may then use them for purposes that are less than noble.
This trend continues to be reflected in VRSN stock’s growth as well as its consistently strong earnings and revenue figures. Its first quarter was the most recent example. VeriSign beat expectations across the board. The company did trim its revenue projections for the next quarter but it’s still near analysts’ expectations.
My Portfolio Grader gives VRSN stock an A rating.
Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of four investing newsletters: Growth Investor, Breakthrough Stocks, Accelerated Profits and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Growth Investor, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.
