Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s stock price fell 4.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $50.56 and last traded at $50.70. 428,997 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 604,003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VERX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson began coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.36.

Vertex Stock Down 3.5 %

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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 285.11, a PEG ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.77.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $170.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.70 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In related news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 575,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $30,480,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $418,513.95. This represents a 98.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 216,268 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total transaction of $11,903,390.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 293,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,145,708.80. This trade represents a 42.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,782,563 shares of company stock worth $187,627,746. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 126.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vertex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Vertex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Amalgamated Bank bought a new stake in Vertex during the second quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Vertex by 46.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. 70.32% 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.