Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VERX. Piper Sandler began coverage on Vertex in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Vertex Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX traded up $0.75 on Friday, hitting $35.46. 638,521 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,044,953. The firm's 50-day moving average is $37.82 and its 200 day moving average is $42.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of -122.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.71. Vertex has a 1-year low of $30.26 and a 1-year high of $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 28.14% and a negative net margin of 6.45%. The business had revenue of $177.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ryan J. Leib sold 5,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 109,415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.70, for a total value of $4,124,945.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,210,329.90. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,520,170 shares of company stock valued at $134,479,744. Corporate insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VERX. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex during the first quarter worth $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 25.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company's stock.

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.