Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 53.79% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Vertex from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Vertex Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of VERX opened at $29.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -292.60, a P/E/G ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Vertex has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $35.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lisa Butler sold 8,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total transaction of $245,632.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,407.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex news, insider 2020 Irrevocable Trust For Ben sold 47,522 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total value of $1,429,936.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,448,152.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Lisa Butler sold 8,290 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total transaction of $245,632.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,407.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,161,048 shares of company stock worth $35,034,678. Corporate insiders own 45.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 1,517.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,244,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,417,000 after buying an additional 3,044,193 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,555,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,673,000 after buying an additional 637,075 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,832,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,311,000 after buying an additional 452,840 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 9.5% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,651,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,454,000 after buying an additional 404,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the first quarter valued at about $12,043,000. 59.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.