Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

VERX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Vertex from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Vertex from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.93.

Vertex Trading Up 3.8%

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $12.85 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.73 and its 200-day moving average is $16.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Vertex has a 52 week low of $10.59 and a 52 week high of $42.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -257.00 and a beta of 0.81.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a negative net margin of 0.84% and a positive return on equity of 26.04%. The company had revenue of $196.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eric C. Andersen bought 40,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.91 per share, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at $1,940,902.31. The trade was a 36.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal bought 150,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.53 per share, with a total value of $1,879,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 397,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,983,682.20. This represents a 60.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 43.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex during the second quarter worth about $54,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Company Profile

Vertex Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: VERX) is a specialty refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in the United States. The company collects and processes a variety of waste petroleum products, including used motor oil and industrial lubricants, which it converts into ultra-low-sulfur diesel, asphalt, and other refined products. By leveraging proprietary re-refining technologies and strategic feedstock sourcing, Vertex Energy aims to deliver cost-effective, lower-carbon fuel solutions to wholesale and retail customers across the country.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vertex operates a network of refining and blending facilities in key regions, including the Central, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.