WEX (NYSE:WEX) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $213.04, but opened at $180.00. WEX shares last traded at $184.11, with a volume of 422,233 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WEX shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. William Blair upgraded WEX to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.17.

WEX Trading Down 15.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $199.61 and a 200-day moving average of $195.12. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $673.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.44 million. WEX had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WEX

In other WEX news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other WEX news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,182 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $204,166.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,524.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,905 shares of company stock worth $895,107 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 717.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of WEX by 456.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 228 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in WEX by 233.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 187 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in WEX in the first quarter valued at about $60,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About WEX

WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings.