In the second half of 2023, Warren Buffett’s extensive selling, particularly of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shares, spooked many traders about the state of the economy as the legendary ‘Oracle of Omaha’ built a massive cash pile.
More recent trends, however, show that the famous investor is again using the money to build equity positions, with his biggest trades in recent weeks being centered on VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN), as revealed through Finbold’s insider activity tracker.
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Specifically, between December 19 and January 3, Buffett reported four massive VRSN buys executed between December 17 and December 31. These trades were made at average prices between $193.77 and $204.71.
The first investment was simultaneously the largest as it involved 234,312 VeriSign shares and amounted to nearly $45.5 million. The latest was likewise the smallest as it saw the billionaire buy 20,044 shares for $4.1 million.
In total, Buffett purchased 474,267 VRSN shares for a total of $93.6 million in the last 30 days, bringing his total stake in the company up to 13.2 million shares.
Buffet has been buying VRSN stock for a decade
Indeed, the latest string of purchases is more of a continuation of a long-term bet than a discovery of a new and promising stock.
Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) have been maintaining a stake in VeriSign since 2012 and substantially expanded their holdings in 2014, though there was also a slight trimming in 2020.
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Given the company’s main business in domain registry services with long-term contracts pertaining to .com and. net websites and the ever-increasing presence of the internet in humanity’s daily life, it comes as no surprise that the bet has been overwhelmingly successful.
Is Berkshire Hathaway up on the VeriSign stock bet?
At the time of the initial purchases in 2012 and through 2014, VRSN stock was trading roughly in the $35 to $60 range, meaning Buffett is at least 240% in the green on the original batch, as VeriSign is, at press time, changing hands at $206.91.
Additionally, the shares are 6% up in the last 30 days and are, as of January 13, trading above their price at the time of Berkshire’s last buy, meaning that ‘The Oracle of Omaha’ is already in the green on the latest stake increase.
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