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

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.82.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VERX. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other Vertex news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total transaction of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749.36. The trade was a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total transaction of $3,041,052.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of VERX opened at $35.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 197.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Vertex has a 1 year low of $27.22 and a 1 year high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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.