Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $34.00. The stock had previously closed at $30.04, but opened at $27.99. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Vertex shares last traded at $28.00, with a volume of 839,358 shares trading hands.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Vertex from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Vertex from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Vertex from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Vertex from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other Vertex news, Director John Richard Stamm sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $191,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,930 shares in the company, valued at $469,616.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex news, Director John Richard Stamm sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $191,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,930 shares in the company, valued at $469,616.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lisa Butler sold 8,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.63, for a total value of $245,632.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,407.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,161,048 shares of company stock worth $35,034,678. 45.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lifted its holdings in Vertex by 22.4% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 2,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $863,000. 59.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.36 and a 200-day moving average of $26.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -281.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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

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.