Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 214,800 Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 214,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.06% of Vertex worth $5,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Vertex by 5.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 582,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,424,000 after buying an additional 29,700 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,275,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,121,000 after acquiring an additional 37,592 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,690,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,444,000 after acquiring an additional 253,263 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in Vertex by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 933,034 shares of the company's stock worth $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 211,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex by 270,150.0% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 5,405 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Vertex Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of VERX stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.17. 136,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 999,856. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.04 and a 1 year high of $60.71. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 217.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $37.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the company'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 sale, the general counsel now owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 44.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VERX shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.73.

Vertex 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.