UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Maintains Neutral Rating, Raises PT for VeriSign

In a report published earlier today, J.P. Morgan & Co. maintained its Neutral rating for VeriSign, Inc. VRSN and raised its price target from $40.00 to $41.50. J.P. Morgan said they kept the Neutral rating “because we believe fiscal 2012 lacks some of the major catalysts that drove share outperformance in the past such as additional price increases, incremental share repurchases, and resolution of issues like the CFIT litigation. While we expect the .com contract renewal to go through in 2012 for Verisign, it may add a little uncertainty for those not as familiar with the auto renewal process. In addition, the new gTLD opportunity is not likely to bear material revenue until 2013 and beyond. Overall, we expect shares of Verisign to perform in line with our coverage universe.” VeriSign, Inc. closed yesterday at $42.71.