Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Sets New 52-Week High at $40.27

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $40.27 and last traded at $40.03, with a volume of 299825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VERX shares. JMP Securities increased their price objective 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 assumed coverage on shares of Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Vertex from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Vertex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.30.

Vertex Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.31. The stock has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 998.50, a PEG ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John R. Schwab sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,901,654.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 1,054,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,875,976.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John R. Schwab sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.81, for a total transaction of $895,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,654.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,699,900 shares of company stock worth $64,107,653 over the last ninety days. 45.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in Vertex by 175.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 73,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 47,031 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 663,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,878,000 after buying an additional 219,301 shares during the period. Bullseye Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Bullseye Asset Management LLC now owns 45,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 637,075 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 34.7% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 25,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 6,529 shares in the last quarter. 59.10% of the stock is owned by 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.