Gagnon Securities LLC Purchases 92,810 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Key Points

• Gagnon Securities LLC increased its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 52.8%, acquiring an additional 92,810 shares, bringing its total to 268,620 shares, which is approximately 2.1% of the fund's investment portfolio.
• Several large investors have also boosted their positions in Vertex during the first quarter, including PNC Financial Services Group, which raised its stake by an astonishing 596.9%.
• Vertex reported a Q2 earnings of $0.15 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.14, while its revenue of $184.56 million was just shy of the expected $184.60 million.

Gagnon Securities LLC grew its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 52.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 268,620 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 92,810 shares during the period. Vertex accounts for approximately 2.1% of Gagnon Securities LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Gagnon Securities LLC owned 0.17% of Vertex worth $9,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 605,617 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 350,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,254,000 after acquiring an additional 118,000 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex by 596.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,607 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 7,372 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Vertex during the 1st quarter worth $207,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in Vertex by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 948 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 $27.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.55. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.45, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.70. Vertex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.11 and a 1-year high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 positive return on equity of 28.14% and a negative net margin of 6.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VERX shares. DA Davidson raised Vertex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Vertex from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Vertex from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler started coverage on Vertex in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.67.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $115,350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,895 shares in the company, valued at $303,562.75. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 109,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,520,170 shares of company stock valued at $134,479,744. 43.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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