Geneva Capital Management LLC Purchases 605,617 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Key Points

• Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex, Inc. by 42.1% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 605,617 shares, now holding a total of 2,043,205 shares.
• Vertex reported $0.15 earnings per share for the recent quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.13 and showing a 12.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of Vertex at an average price of $38.45, resulting in a 99.74% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 42.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,043,205 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 605,617 shares during the period. Vertex accounts for 1.3% of Geneva Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned about 1.29% of Vertex worth $71,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Vertex by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 54,115 shares of the company's stock worth $2,887,000 after buying an additional 11,966 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Vertex by 3,751.0% during 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 stake in 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 buying an additional 45,494 shares during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI bought a new position in Vertex during the first quarter worth $8,203,000. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Vertex by 85.3% in the first quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 45,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 20,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Vertex Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VERX opened at $32.30 on Monday. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.26 and a 1 year high of $60.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -111.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a negative net margin of 6.45% and a positive return on equity of 28.14%. The business had revenue of $177.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VERX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson raised shares of Vertex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,562.75. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 109,415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.70, for a total transaction of $4,124,945.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,066,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,210,329.90. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,520,170 shares of company stock valued at $134,479,744 in the last three months. 43.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Vertex

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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