Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Trading Down 17.3% Following Weak Earnings

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) shares traded down 17.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $36.00 and last traded at $35.25. 643,491 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 938,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.63.

The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.90 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VERX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 575,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $30,480,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $418,513.95. This trade represents a 98.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 13,346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $735,764.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,344,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,136,288.02. The trade was a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 858,457 shares of company stock worth $46,160,958 over the last quarter. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 6.1% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 179.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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.