WEX (NYSE:WEX) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $213.04, but opened at $180.00. WEX shares last traded at $184.11, with a volume of 422,233 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. William Blair upgraded shares of WEX to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.17.

WEX Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.55.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $673.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.44 million. WEX had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 31.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Melanie J. Tinto sold 1,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.04, for a total transaction of $289,402.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,565,623.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Melanie J. Tinto sold 1,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.04, for a total value of $289,402.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,565,623.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $204,166.86. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,524.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,905 shares of company stock worth $895,107. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in WEX by 233.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 187 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of WEX by 717.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEX by 456.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in WEX in the first quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Company Profile

WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings.