Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Hits New 1-Year High at $35.53

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $35.53 and last traded at $35.21, with a volume of 214583 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VERX shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Vertex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Vertex from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Vertex Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 888.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.85 and a beta of 0.68.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.01). Vertex had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 1.29%. The business had revenue of $156.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.50 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 791,133 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $23,773,546.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,554,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,716,962.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Jac sold 6,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.04, for a total value of $209,288.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,242,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,333,501.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 791,133 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $23,773,546.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,554,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,716,962.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,387,269 shares of company stock valued at $76,064,373. Corporate insiders own 45.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Sandia Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $159,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $166,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $192,000. 59.10% 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.