Analysts Set Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Target Price at $55.36

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.36.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson began coverage on Vertex in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Vertex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $57.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.79. 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 $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 321.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.78. Vertex has a fifty-two week low of $24.17 and a fifty-two week high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $170.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In related news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 3,020 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.08, for a total transaction of $166,341.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 2,485,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $121,516,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,065.50. The trade was a 99.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,605,417 shares of company stock worth $180,941,809 over the last quarter. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Vertex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.