Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three 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. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.70.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Vertex Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VERX stock opened at $53.53 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.45 and a 200-day moving average of $41.29. The stock has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 297.39, a P/E/G ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.77. Vertex has a 52-week low of $23.31 and a 52-week high of $57.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $311,220.90. The trade was a 99.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Richard Stamm sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total value of $134,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,938.35. This represents a 13.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,007,563 shares of company stock valued at $235,917,246 over the last three months. 44.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex by 126.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Vertex by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by 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.