BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires Shares of 98,890 Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 98,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,276,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.06% of Vertex as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Vertex by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 582,273 shares of the company's stock worth $22,424,000 after acquiring an additional 29,700 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vertex by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 17,291 shares of the company's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its holdings in Vertex by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,099 shares of the company's stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VERX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.73.

Vertex Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ VERX traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.15. 513,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,018,840. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.26 and a 52-week high of $60.71. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 211.94, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $177.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. Vertex's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 109,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.70, for a total transaction of $4,124,945.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,066,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,210,329.90. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,398 shares of company stock valued at $5,898,979 in the last three months. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Vertex 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.