Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Receives $55.36 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.36.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VERX. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Vertex Stock Performance

VERX opened at $55.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.24 and its 200 day moving average is $43.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 310.15, a PEG ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.77. Vertex has a 12-month low of $23.38 and a 12-month high of $57.74.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $170.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 2,485,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $121,516,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,065.50. This trade represents a 99.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Jac sold 8,485 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total value of $420,007.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 782,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,743,947. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,578,219 shares of company stock worth $179,270,309 over the last 90 days. 44.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,287,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,102,000 after acquiring an additional 54,985 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 17.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,690,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,444,000 after buying an additional 253,263 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,863,000 after acquiring an additional 414,945 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,361,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,447,000 after acquiring an additional 363,595 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,275,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,121,000 after acquiring an additional 37,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex

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.