Barclays PLC Has $20.90 Million Position in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Key Points

• Barclays PLC cut its stake in Vertex by 81.7% in Q3, selling 3.76 million shares and is left with 843,224 shares valued at about $20.90 million.
• Insiders bought 437,740 shares (~$5.64 million) in the last three months — notably Jeffrey Westphal (247,740 shares at $13.08) and director Eric C. Andersen (40,000 shares at $12.91) — raising insider ownership to 43.25%.
• Analysts have lowered price targets and the consensus rating is a Hold with a $23.07 target; the stock trades near recent lows (opened $14.13) despite 9.1% revenue growth and a very high P/E of 353.34.

Barclays PLC lessened its stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 81.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 843,224 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,755,794 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.53% of Vertex worth $20,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Vertex by 108.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 3,012 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Vertex by 37.9% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,466 shares of the company's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Vertex by 17.0% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,643 shares of the company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $14.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 353.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.45. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.86 and a fifty-two week high of $42.44.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17. The firm had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.33 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.The company's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other news, insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 247,740 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.08 per share, with a total value of $3,240,439.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 247,740 shares in the company, valued at $3,240,439.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen bought 40,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.91 per share, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 150,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. This represents a 36.25% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 437,740 shares of company stock worth $5,636,339 in the last three months. 43.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VERX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Vertex from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on Vertex in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $13.00 price objective on Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.07.

Vertex Profile

Vertex Energy, Inc NASDAQ: VERX is a specialty refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in the United States. The company collects and processes a variety of waste petroleum products, including used motor oil and industrial lubricants, which it converts into ultra-low-sulfur diesel, asphalt, and other refined products. By leveraging proprietary re-refining technologies and strategic feedstock sourcing, Vertex Energy aims to deliver cost-effective, lower-carbon fuel solutions to wholesale and retail customers across the country.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vertex operates a network of refining and blending facilities in key regions, including the Central, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.

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