EAM Investors LLC Invests $4.98 Million in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

EAM Investors LLC bought a new position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 93,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,975,000. EAM Investors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Vertex as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $38.01. 190,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,031,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.22 and a 1 year high of $60.71. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 211.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $37.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.42.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.90 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VERX. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This represents a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex 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.