Banque Pictet & Cie SA Decreases Stock Holdings in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lowered its holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 818,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125,425 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned approximately 0.51% of Vertex worth $16,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Vertex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Vertex by 0.4% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 137,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,456,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 5.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex by 9.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 10.4% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VERX shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.07.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, Director Eric C. Andersen bought 40,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.91 per share, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at $1,940,902.31. This represents a 36.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal purchased 247,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.08 per share, with a total value of $3,240,439.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 247,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,240,439.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 437,740 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,339. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $12.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Vertex, Inc. has a one year low of $11.25 and a one year high of $42.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.The firm had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. Vertex’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex

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.