Warren Buffett Is Holding These 5 Tech Stocks Despite Selloff

1. VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34

1-Month Decline in Share Price as of May 17: 21%

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) is a Virginia-based company that offers domain name registry services and internet infrastructure for multiple prominent domain names worldwide. Warren Buffett’s hedge fund kept its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) unchanged in Q1 2022, holding 12.8 million shares worth $2.85 billion. 

On April 28, VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) reported earnings for Q1, posting an EPS of $1.56, beating market consensus by $0.05. The revenue of $346.90 million also surpassed Street estimates by about $4 million. 

Baird analyst Rob Oliver downgraded VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) on April 29 to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $210, down from $260. The company slashed fiscal 2022 estimates, citing a reduced domain outlook amid a softening post-COVID demand and incremental weakness in the macro backdrop, the analyst told investors in a research note. He believes the “sudden domain uncertainty could weigh on shares”.

In Q4 2021, 34 hedge funds were bullish on VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN), down from 40 funds in the earlier quarter. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies held a significant stake in the company in Q1 2022, with more than 4 million shares worth $893.5 million.  

Here is what Baron Asset Fund has to say about VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Verisign, Inc. provides internet infrastructure services worldwide and is best known for its exclusive role managing the .com and .net domains, for which it receives annual fees from all those domain owners. Shares of Verisign gained after reporting strong revenue growth and operating margins that exceeded Wall Street forecasts. We continue to be positive on Verisign’s business, based on its strong competitive position, capacity for global growth in domain names, and its ongoing ability to generate substantial free cash flow.”

You can also take a look at 10 Consumer Technology Stocks to Invest In According to Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management and Top 10 Stocks Billionaire Mets Owner Steve Cohen Just Added to His Portfolio.

Follow Insider Monkey on Twitter