Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $57.00 to $60.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.82.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX opened at $36.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.66 and its 200-day moving average is $46.40. Vertex has a twelve month low of $27.22 and a twelve month high of $60.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 200.89, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The firm had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.90 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 406.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after buying an additional 27,602 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Vertex by 344.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertex by 36.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 469,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,081,000 after acquiring an additional 124,169 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.