Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Invests $37.80 Million in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,178,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,796,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,293,000. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex by 2,730.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,343,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,312,000 after buying an additional 1,296,297 shares during the period. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the third quarter worth $30,988,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 76.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,161,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,584,000 after acquiring an additional 937,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Vertex by 1,906.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,125,000 after acquiring an additional 889,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Vertex in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Vertex from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Vertex Price Performance

VERX opened at $11.87 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Vertex, Inc. has a one year low of $10.21 and a one year high of $35.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -237.40 and a beta of 0.83.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $196.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.82 million. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 26.04% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Company Profile

Vertex Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: VERX) is a specialty refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in the United States. The company collects and processes a variety of waste petroleum products, including used motor oil and industrial lubricants, which it converts into ultra-low-sulfur diesel, asphalt, and other refined products. By leveraging proprietary re-refining technologies and strategic feedstock sourcing, Vertex Energy aims to deliver cost-effective, lower-carbon fuel solutions to wholesale and retail customers across the country.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vertex operates a network of refining and blending facilities in key regions, including the Central, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.