Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Price

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 40.13% from the stock's current price.

VERX has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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 lowered their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Vertex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.91.

Vertex Stock Performance

Vertex stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.25. The company had a trading volume of 692,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,031,686. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Vertex has a 12-month low of $27.22 and a 12-month high of $60.71. The company's fifty day moving average is $37.97 and its 200-day moving average is $46.35. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 218.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. This trade represents a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749.36. The trade was a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,361,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,447,000 after buying an additional 363,595 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Vertex by 5.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 582,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,424,000 after acquiring an additional 29,700 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vertex by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,275,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,121,000 after acquiring an additional 37,592 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Vertex by 17.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,690,045 shares of the company's stock worth $69,444,000 after acquiring an additional 253,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 933,034 shares of the company's stock worth $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 211,896 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.