Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $40.67, but opened at $39.00. Vertex shares last traded at $37.91, with a volume of 748,962 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.73.

Vertex Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 205.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $38.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.58.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The firm had revenue of $177.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $303,562.75. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,158,398 shares of company stock valued at $121,248,979. Insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Vertex by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 54,115 shares of the company's stock worth $2,887,000 after buying an additional 11,966 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $3,363,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vertex by 1,100.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 572,245 shares of the company's stock worth $30,530,000 after buying an additional 524,572 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $534,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Vertex by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 215,102 shares of the company's stock worth $11,522,000 after buying an additional 24,383 shares during 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.