Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Vertex, Inc. shares reached a new 1-year low at $24.22 during mid-day trading, reflecting a sharp decline from its previous closing price of $24.98.
• Despite the decline in stock price, several analysts continue to maintain bullish ratings on Vertex, with a consensus price target of $43.69 and ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold."
• Insider trading activity has been significant, with notable sales involving executives reducing their holdings, indicating potential concerns about the company's future performance.

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $24.39 and last traded at $24.22, with a volume of 1054832 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on VERX shares. JMP Securities set a $50.00 price target on shares of Vertex and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $43.00 target price on Vertex and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup raised Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered Vertex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.69.

Vertex Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.48, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $184.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.60 million. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 27.16% and a negative net margin of 7.09%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex news, 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total transaction of $115,350,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $303,562.75. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,405,000 shares of company stock worth $130,136,108 over the last ninety days. 43.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VERX. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the second quarter worth $300,348,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,398,435 shares of the company's stock worth $120,084,000 after purchasing an additional 450,695 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,017,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,632,000 after acquiring an additional 974,530 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in Vertex in the second quarter worth $88,293,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,429,416 shares of the company's stock worth $85,054,000 after acquiring an additional 939,031 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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