Banque Pictet & Cie SA Boosts Position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 63.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,003,470 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 389,907 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned approximately 0.63% of Vertex worth $35,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Vertex during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex by 7,675.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VERX traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.48. 1,181,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,050,050. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.71. Vertex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.26 and a 52 week high of $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.94.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 28.14% and a negative net margin of 6.45%. The company had revenue of $177.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VERX shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Vertex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In related news, CEO David Destefano sold 109,415 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.70, for a total value of $4,124,945.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,066,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,210,329.90. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ryan J. Leib sold 5,755 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $218,690.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,520,170 shares of company stock worth $134,479,744. Insiders own 43.25% 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.