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 cut its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VERX. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,429,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,054,000 after purchasing an additional 939,031 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Vertex in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,399,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,947,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,200,000 after purchasing an additional 686,145 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 2,043,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,533,000 after purchasing an additional 605,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Vertex by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,511,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,128,000 after purchasing an additional 482,669 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VERX. Citigroup upgraded shares of Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities set a $50.00 target price on shares of Vertex and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Vertex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Vertex in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.69.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In related news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 14,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 173,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,099,127.76. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 405,000 shares of company stock worth $14,786,108. 43.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VERX traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $24.05. 1,110,725 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,314,912. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.13 and a fifty-two week high of $60.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.47 and a 200 day moving average of $34.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of -72.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.67.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share 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.