Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $45.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 49.25% from the company’s previous close.

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

Vertex Stock Performance

Vertex stock opened at $30.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of -301.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.65. Vertex has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $35.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.39. 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 (NASDAQ:VERX) last released 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. 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 research analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 26,609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total transaction of $894,594.58. Following 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 document filed 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 company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 15,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,616.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Ann sold 26,609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.62, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,161,048 shares of company stock valued at $35,034,678 in the last three months. 45.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $149,673,000 after buying an additional 637,075 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,651,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,454,000 after purchasing an additional 404,550 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $87,417,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,193 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,832,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,311,000 after acquiring an additional 452,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 2,596,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,968,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.