Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $40.67, but opened at $39.00. Vertex shares last traded at $37.91, with a volume of 748,962 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VERX shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.73.

Vertex Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 208.61, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.75. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.83.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $177.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.99 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total transaction of $115,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,562.75. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ryan J. Leib sold 5,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $218,690.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,158,398 shares of company stock valued at $121,248,979. 43.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter worth $79,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.