Analysts Set Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Price Target at $55.36

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

A number of research analysts have commented on VERX shares. DA Davidson started coverage on Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other news, CEO David Destefano sold 216,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total transaction of $11,903,390.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 293,345 shares in the company, valued at $16,145,708.80. This trade represents a 42.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 2,485,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,065.50. This represents a 99.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,578,219 shares of company stock valued at $179,270,309. Corporate insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Vertex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 2nd quarter worth $68,000. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $52.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Vertex has a fifty-two week low of $23.38 and a fifty-two week high of $57.74. The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 293.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.45.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $170.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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.