Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Now Covered by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.33.

Vertex Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of VERX opened at $39.09 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $37.34 and a 200 day moving average of $46.35. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 217.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. Vertex has a 52-week low of $27.22 and a 52-week high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Vertex in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

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.