Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Acquired by Gagnon Securities LLC

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 increased its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 52.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 268,620 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 92,810 shares during the quarter. Vertex accounts for 2.1% of Gagnon Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Gagnon Securities LLC owned about 0.17% of Vertex worth $9,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Vertex by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,089 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Vertex by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Vertex by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 60,571 shares of the company's stock worth $3,231,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Vertex by 61.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,380 shares of the company's stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,868,438 shares of the company's stock worth $153,031,000 after purchasing an additional 580,664 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Stock Performance

VERX stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $25.56. 628,336 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,324,140. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.89. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of -77.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.70. 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 1-year low of $25.11 and a 1-year high of $60.71.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of Vertex 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 sale, the insider directly owned 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $303,562.75. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ryan J. Leib sold 5,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $218,690.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,520,170 shares of company stock valued at $134,479,744 in the last three months. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VERX shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson lowered shares of Vertex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $61.00) on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.