Comerica Bank Boosts Stock Position in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Vertex, Inc. by 16.2% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 31,528 shares for a total of 225,865 shares, valued at approximately $7.9 million.
• Insider activity saw significant share sales, including 3 million shares sold by Jeffrey Westphal, representing a 99.74% decrease in his position, highlighting substantial insider selling in a short time.
• Vertex's quarterly earnings reported a slight EPS beat at $0.15 against an estimated $0.14, with a revenue increase of 14.6% year-over-year, despite a negative net margin.

Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,865 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 31,528 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned about 0.14% of Vertex worth $7,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 54,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 11,966 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 3,751.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,087 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 7,877 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 25.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 224,762 shares of the company's stock worth $7,869,000 after purchasing an additional 45,494 shares in the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex in the first quarter worth $8,203,000. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 42.1% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 2,043,205 shares of the company's stock worth $71,533,000 after purchasing an additional 605,617 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $303,562.75. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 14,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.24, for a total transaction of $508,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 173,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,099,127.76. This trade represents a 7.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,405,000 shares of company stock worth $130,136,108 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Vertex Price Performance

NASDAQ VERX traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.82. 1,260,471 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,881,321. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Vertex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.45 and a 12-month high of $60.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VERX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Vertex in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $43.00 target price on shares of Vertex and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.69.

Vertex Company 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.