Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report)'s share 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 traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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 reduced their price target on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.73.

Vertex Trading Down 1.4%

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.83. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 208.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.75.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $177.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.99 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In related news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.45, for a total value of $115,350,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,562.75. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,158,398 shares of company stock valued at $121,248,979. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VERX. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 54,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,887,000 after purchasing an additional 11,966 shares in the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,363,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex by 1,100.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter worth $534,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.