Infrastrucure software developer VeriSign Inc. finally completed its financial restatements this week after the Mountain View, Calif., company became one of many under investigation for stock options shenanigans. In a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, VeriSign reported it has a total of $160.3 million in additional stock option compensation expenses due to mishandled stock options grants from 1998 to 2006.

Todd Weller, an infrastructure analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore, says in a Friday research note that he views this news as an "incremental positive," since now VeriSign can resume share purchases. The company also announced the resignation of its chief financial officer, Dana Evan, and the appointment of its current senior vice president of finance and controller, Albert Clement, as its new CFO. And perhaps the best news of all for VeriSign's shareholders: The company reiterated that it had found no wrongdoing by either executive with respect to the company's stock option issues, Weller writes, reiterating a buy rating on the company's stock.

Weller isn't the only analyst pleased with the news. Katherine Egbert of Jefferies & Co. upgraded her rating on the stock to buy from hold, causing the shares to hit a new high Friday. By late trading, the shares were up 78 cents, or 2.36%, to $33.77. Egbert believes margin expansion will continue in 2008 due to cost control initiatives at the company, a renewed focus on VeriSign's core registry business and raising prices over the next four years, prompting longer-term free cash flow growth, The Associated Press reported. Egbert expects the company to start a $1 billion share repurchase following the release of its first-quarter report. —Cheryl Meyer

See July 13 story from Reuters.com
See July 13 story from The Associated Press on Yahoo.com
See July 12 press release from Market Wire on Yahoo.com