Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd invested $376,000 in Vertex, Inc. by purchasing 10,749 shares, signaling strong institutional interest in the company's stock.
• Vertex's CEO, David Destefano, sold 109,415 shares valued at over $4 million, while insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3 million shares for approximately $115 million, indicating significant insider selling activity.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Vertex, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and target prices ranging from $40 to $55, reflecting mixed market sentiments about the stock's future performance.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the first quarter worth approximately $133,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex by 37.5% in the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 122.4% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 96,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,384,000 after buying an additional 53,198 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in Vertex by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 347,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,182,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 5.1% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 132,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,640,000 after buying an additional 6,463 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.81. 320,707 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,243,058. Vertex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.26 and a 1-year high of $60.71. The business's 50 day moving average price is $36.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of -113.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business earned $0.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, CEO David Destefano sold 109,415 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,210,329.90. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 14,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.24, for a total value of $508,337.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 173,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,099,127.76. The trade was a 7.69% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.