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 - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Bank of America from $42.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price target indicates a potential upside of 23.68% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities set a $50.00 price target on Vertex and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.69.

Vertex Price Performance

Vertex stock opened at $27.49 on Friday. Vertex has a 1 year low of $25.11 and a 1 year high of $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.35. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.30, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.70.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 28.28% and a negative net margin of 7.09%. The company had revenue of $184.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other news, CEO David Destefano sold 109,415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.70, for a total transaction of $4,124,945.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,210,329.90. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $115,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $303,562.75. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,520,170 shares of company stock valued at $134,479,744. Corporate insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Vertex by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Vertex by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.32% 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.