Vertex, Inc. $VERX Shares Sold by Fred Alger Management LLC

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC reduced its stake in Vertex, Inc. by 18.8%, now owning 1.06% valued at approximately $58.56 million after selling 387,661 shares in the first quarter.
• In Q1, several institutional investors increased their positions in Vertex, with Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosting its stake by 3,751%, while institutional ownership now stands at 70.32%.
• Vertex's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.15, which exceeded analysts' expectations, and the stock received mixed ratings with a consensus target of $43.69 from analysts.

Fred Alger Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,672,623 shares of the company's stock after selling 387,661 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 1.06% of Vertex worth $58,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11,966 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 7,877 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 25.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the first quarter worth $8,203,000. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 42.1% during 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 during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $43.00 target price on shares of Vertex and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities set a $50.00 target price on shares of Vertex and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 157,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.93, for a total value of $5,672,412.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 196,841 shares in the company, valued at $7,072,497.13. This trade represents a 44.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 405,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,786,108. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Vertex Stock Performance

Vertex stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.87. 1,385,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,347,695. The firm's 50 day moving average is $29.92 and its 200 day moving average is $34.66. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.67. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.13 and a 52-week high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business's revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.