Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Rating Reiterated by JMP Securities

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at JMP Securities in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $42.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 49.95% from the stock’s previous close.

VERX has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Vertex from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.11.

Vertex Trading Down 6.8 %

Vertex stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.01. 1,307,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,662. Vertex has a fifty-two week low of $17.59 and a fifty-two week high of $35.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -281.80, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. Vertex had a negative net margin of 2.29% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $154.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.44 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 791,133 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total value of $23,773,546.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,554,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,716,962.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 26,609 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total value of $894,594.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,338,465 shares in the company, valued at $44,999,193.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 791,133 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $23,773,546.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,554,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,716,962.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,161,048 shares of company stock valued at $35,034,678. 45.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 2,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.10% of the company’s stock.

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.