Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.30.

A number of research firms have weighed in on VERX. Baird R W raised shares of Vertex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Vertex Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $36.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 907.50, a P/E/G ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.69. Vertex has a twelve month low of $20.48 and a twelve month high of $40.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 22.32%. The firm had revenue of $161.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.66 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. Vertex’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,500,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $56,715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,054,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,875,976.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 45.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 1.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the second quarter worth $28,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 16,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.10% of the company’s stock.

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.