Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC purchased 146,251 shares of Vertex, Inc. for approximately $5.12 million, bringing its total ownership to 0.09% as of the latest SEC filing.
• The trading performance of Vertex, Inc. saw shares drop 1.9%, with a current stock price around $24.87 and a twelve-month high of $60.71.
• Insider sales have amounted to 3.4 million shares in the past 90 days, indicating a significant decrease in positions held by insiders.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 146,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,120,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Vertex as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VERX. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Vertex by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,645 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Vertex during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Vertex by 88.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Vertex by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,020 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 29.0% in the first quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX traded up $0.48 on Monday, reaching $25.82. 1,260,471 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,887,048. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of -78.24, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.68. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.45 and a 52-week high of $60.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 27.16% and a negative net margin of 7.09%.The firm had revenue of $184.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VERX has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $43.00 target price on shares of Vertex and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson downgraded Vertex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup raised Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Vertex in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 157,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.93, for a total transaction of $5,672,412.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 196,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,072,497.13. This trade represents a 44.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $303,562.75. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,405,000 shares of company stock valued at $130,136,108. 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.