Pier Capital LLC Grows Holdings in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Pier Capital LLC boosted its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 291,859 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,230 shares during the period. Pier Capital LLC owned about 0.18% of Vertex worth $7,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VERX. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 44.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,136,000 after acquiring an additional 275,520 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex by 9.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,917,000 after acquiring an additional 689,143 shares during the last quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Vertex by 81.8% during the third quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,958,000 after acquiring an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 40.3% during the third quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 378,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,388,000 after acquiring an additional 108,839 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Vertex by 231.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,490,097 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX opened at $13.74 on Friday. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.86 and a 1 year high of $42.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 343.59, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.63.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.17. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.The company had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other Vertex news, Director Eric C. Andersen bought 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 150,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal bought 247,740 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.08 per share, with a total value of $3,240,439.20. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 247,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,240,439.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 437,740 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,339 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.07.

Vertex 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.