Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.30.

VERX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W upgraded Vertex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Vertex from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th.

Vertex Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ VERX opened at $39.21 on Wednesday. Vertex has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $40.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.93 and its 200-day moving average is $34.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 980.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.69.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a return on equity of 22.32% and a net margin of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $161.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $56,715,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,054,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,875,976.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO John R. Schwab sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.81, for a total value of $895,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,654.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $56,715,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,054,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,875,976.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,699,900 shares of company stock valued at $64,107,653. Company insiders own 45.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its position in Vertex by 551.9% during the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 949,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,231,000 after buying an additional 803,881 shares during the period. Pembroke Management LTD grew its position in Vertex by 255.3% during the 1st quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 927,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,446,000 after acquiring an additional 666,223 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vertex by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,555,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,673,000 after purchasing an additional 637,075 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,173,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Vertex in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,043,000. 59.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vertex

Vertex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise tax technology solutions for retail trade, wholesale trade, and manufacturing industries in the United States and internationally. The company offers tax determination; compliance and reporting, including workflow management tools, role-based security, and event logging; tax data management; document management; analytics and insights; pre-built integration that includes mapping data fields, and business logic and configurations; industry-specific solutions; and technology specific solutions, such as chain flow accelerator and SAP-specific tools.