Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America has reduced its price target for Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) from $42.00 to $34.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, which still suggests a potential upside of 23.68% from the last close.
• Other analysts have varying views, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.69, indicating mixed signals about Vertex's future prospects.
• Insider selling has been notable, with CEO David Destefano selling 109,415 shares, while insider Jeffrey Westphal disposed of 3 million shares, reflecting a significant reduction in their holdings.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Vertex from $50.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson upgraded Vertex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $61.00) on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.69.

Vertex Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,500,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,071. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.70. Vertex has a one year low of $24.45 and a one year high of $60.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 27.16% and a negative net margin of 7.09%. The firm had revenue of $184.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. Vertex's quarterly revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $115,350,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,562.75. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 157,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.93, for a total value of $5,672,412.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 196,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,072,497.13. The trade was a 44.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,405,000 shares of company stock valued at $130,136,108. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Vertex by 15.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 97,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,445,000 after buying an additional 13,337 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Vertex by 7.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 79,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,812,000 after buying an additional 5,515 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Vertex by 0.9% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 130,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,608,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Vertex in the second quarter valued at $26,681,000. Finally, Summitry LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex in the second quarter valued at $297,000. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.