Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $36.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Vertex traded as high as $36.34 and last traded at $36.15, with a volume of 97352 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.79.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VERX. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Vertex from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vertex from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Vertex from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.93, for a total value of $49,395,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,554,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,124,328.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 45.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 1,195.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,144,000 after purchasing an additional 205,489 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 284,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,580,000 after buying an additional 68,289 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vertex by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 425,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,822,000 after buying an additional 196,169 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 29.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 50,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 11,595 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 14.6% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares in the last quarter. 59.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Price Performance

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 moving average of $32.59 and a 200 day moving average of $29.36. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 901.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.88 and a beta of 0.68.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $156.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.50 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current year.

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.