Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Downgraded by DA Davidson to "Hold"

Key Points

• DA Davidson has downgraded Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, affecting market perceptions of the company.
• Vertex's stock declined by 4.3% on Thursday, closing at $26.31, with analysts predicting Q3 2025 earnings of $0.11 EPS.
• Insiders have sold a total of 3,520,170 shares of Vertex stock in the last three months, indicating potential concerns about company performance.

DA Davidson lowered shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Vertex's Q3 2025 earnings at $0.11 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $0.55 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VERX. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Vertex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.69.

Vertex Price Performance

NASDAQ:VERX traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.12. 2,319,783 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,339,884. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $35.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.66. Vertex has a 1 year low of $24.45 and a 1 year high of $60.71. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of -76.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Vertex in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Vertex by 31.0% in 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 holdings in Vertex by 44.4% in 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. increased its holdings in Vertex by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 88.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $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.