Weekly Internet Notes: VeriSign, Constant Contact, Shutterfly

This week some of the companies under the internet domain, such as VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) and Constant Contact (NASDAQ:CTCT), announced the release date for their fourth quarter financial results. Also, companies like  Constant Contact and Shutterfly (NASDAQ:SFLY) witnessed some insider trading activities. Finally, VeriSign has decided to continue with its long term public relations partner, Weber Shandwick.

Below we give a quick rundown on the most notable events in the last week related to these companies.

See Our Complete Analysis for These Companies Here

VeriSign

After a competitive review, VeriSign has decided to retain Weber Shandwick as its global PR agency partner. The relationship between the two companies was initiated in 2006. ^[1]

On a separate note, VeriSign announced recently that it will be releasing its fourth quarter and full year 2014 financial results on February 5th. (See press release). VeriSign posted a robust third quarter 2014, showing signs of recovery from the slack performance of the first half of 2014. For Q3 2014, it reported revenues of $255 million, with a 4.7% year-on-year revenue growth. To know more about VeriSign’s third quarter results, read our previous article.

Our price estimate of $60 for VeriSign is marginally above the current market price. We expect the company to report revenues of approximately $1 billion and net income of $502 million for FY 2014. Our GAAP and non-GAAP diluted EPS estimates stand at $2.89 and $2.46, respectively. VeriSign’s stock price did not witness significant change over the last week.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact has recently announced that it will release its fourth quarter and full year 2014 financial results on January 29th. (See press release). Constant Contact experienced significant growth in the first nine months of 2014 with revenue amounting to $243 million, displaying a 16% year-on-year growth. The company is evolving from an email marketing service provider to an exhaustive marketing platform for small and medium businesses. You can read about the highlights of Constant Contact’s performance in 2014, in this article.

The company has also announced that its Chief Financial Officer Mr Harpreet Grewal , will present at the Needham Growth Conference, to be held in New York City, on January 13th. ^[2] The conference is aimed at giving institutional investors, private equity firms and venture capitalists access to over 375 growth companies from a broad range of industries including communications, healthcare, industrial technology, internet, entertainment, semiconductors, and software. ^[3]

Constant Contact witnessed some insider trading at the beginning of this year. On January 2nd, Constant Contact’s CEO Gail Goodman sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in the open market for an average price of $36.78. The total value of the transaction was $551,700. After the transaction, the CEO now directly owns 562,795 shares, valued at around $20,699,600. (View SEC filing).

Our price estimate of $31 for Constant Contact is at a significant discount to the current market price. We forecast the company to report revenues of approximately $333 million for FY 2014. Constant Contact’s stocks witnessed a 5% growth over the week through Friday.

Shutterfly

On January 2,  Shutterfly’s Director, Phillip Marineau sold 4,440 shares at an average price of $41.38. The value of the transaction was approximately $183,727. As a result of the transaction, the Director now directly owns 53,738 shares of the company. (View SEC filing).

On January 6, shares of Shutterfly grew by  4% in after-hours trading following the news that Point72 Asset Management had increased its stake in Shutterfly from 5.24% to 6% as of September 30, 2014. ^[4]

Our price estimate of $45 for Shutterfly is around 10% above the current market price. We forecast the company to report revenues of approximately $909 million for FY 2014. Shutterfly’s stocks witnessed a less than 1% decline over the week through Friday.

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1. Verisign has retained Weber Shandwick as its global PR agency partner after a review, PR Week, January 2015 [↩]
2. Constant Contact to Present at the Needham Growth Conference, Constant Contact, Jan 2015 [↩]
3. 17th Annual Needham Growth Conference, Needham, January 2015 [↩]
4. Shutterfly Surges Following News That Point72 Increased Its Stake, Benzinga, January 2015 [↩]