Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Research Coverage Started at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Vertex from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $36.80.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $37.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 947.75, a PEG ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.69. Vertex has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $40.04.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). Vertex had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm had revenue of $156.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.50 million. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,500,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $56,715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,054,641 shares in the company, valued at $39,875,976.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 45.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex by 1,517.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,244,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,193 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in shares of Vertex by 551.9% in the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 949,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,231,000 after purchasing an additional 803,881 shares during the period. Pembroke Management LTD grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 255.3% in the first quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 927,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,446,000 after purchasing an additional 666,223 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vertex by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,555,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,673,000 after buying an additional 637,075 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,832,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,311,000 after buying an additional 452,840 shares in the last quarter. 59.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.