Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Raised to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $50.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $35.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JMP Securities upped their target price on Vertex from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Baird R W raised Vertex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.27.

Vertex Trading Up 3.2 %

VERX opened at $51.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 427.75, a PEG ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.67. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $39.88 and its 200-day moving average is $36.45. Vertex has a 1-year low of $22.31 and a 1-year high of $51.95.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $161.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $48,289,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,220.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Jac sold 56,419 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.77, for a total transaction of $2,300,202.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 932,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,026,423.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,629,244 shares of company stock valued at $64,039,589. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.10% of the company’s stock.

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.