Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.04 and last traded at $52.98, with a volume of 143372 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on VERX shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Vertex from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.30.

Vertex Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.94. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 299.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $170.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.70 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $48,289,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $311,220.90. This trade represents a 99.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 158,900 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.27, for a total transaction of $5,922,203.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,430,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,299,827. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,330,722 shares of company stock valued at $197,009,011 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 551.9% during the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 949,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,231,000 after buying an additional 803,881 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,173,000. Brown Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,938,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 787.0% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 524,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,280,000 after buying an additional 465,610 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 40.1% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,863,000 after buying an additional 414,945 shares during the period. 59.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.