PDT Partners LLC Makes New $1.44 Million Investment in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,435,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,858,981 shares of the company's stock worth $365,927,000 after purchasing an additional 137,666 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Vertex by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,527,604 shares of the company's stock worth $188,198,000 after buying an additional 53,829 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,868,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,031,000 after buying an additional 580,664 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Vertex by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,129,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,587,000 after acquiring an additional 439,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Vertex by 342.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,660 shares of the company's stock worth $80,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,576 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 240,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,599. Vertex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.04 and a 52 week high of $60.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.36 and a 200-day moving average of $46.28. 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 $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 219.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.90 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VERX shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.73.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other Vertex news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total transaction of $1,555,343.44. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749.36. The trade was a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 44.58% 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.