Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $55.52 and last traded at $55.15, with a volume of 747701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VERX shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $35.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.30.

Vertex Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.66. The company has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 301.39, a PEG ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.67.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $170.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.70 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $48,289,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,220.90. This trade represents a 99.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 3,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.08, for a total transaction of $166,341.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,202,949 shares of company stock worth $192,797,340. 44.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in 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 period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,173,000. Brown Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,938,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 465,610 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex by 40.1% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,863,000 after purchasing an additional 414,945 shares in the last quarter. 59.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Company Profile

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.