Two Sigma Investments LP Reduces Stock Position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,434 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,921 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Vertex were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Vertex by 342.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,754,000 after buying an additional 1,171,576 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter worth about $61,825,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 233.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 851,127 shares of the company's stock worth $45,409,000 after buying an additional 596,077 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 580,664 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 1,100.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 572,245 shares of the company's stock worth $30,530,000 after buying an additional 524,572 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on VERX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.73.

Vertex Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Vertex stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.42. The company had a trading volume of 559,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 230.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.75. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.26 and a 52-week high of $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.31 and a 200 day moving average of $45.27.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $177.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.99 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749.36. The trade was a 99.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 158,398 shares of company stock valued at $5,898,979. 43.25% of the stock is owned by company 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.