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

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.82.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VERX shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total transaction of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. The trade was a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VERX. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Price Performance

Vertex stock opened at $36.08 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 200.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87. Vertex has a 52 week low of $27.22 and a 52 week high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.90 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.