Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Price Target Lowered to $55.00 at Morgan Stanley

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 44.32% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.91.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX stock traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.11. The company had a trading volume of 941,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,034,053. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $37.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.42. Vertex has a 52-week low of $27.22 and a 52-week high of $60.71. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 211.72, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.90 million. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total transaction of $3,041,052.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

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.