Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Price

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $62.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven 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 a consensus target price of $50.00.

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Vertex Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of VERX stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.21. 2,272,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,847. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $51.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78. Vertex has a fifty-two week low of $27.22 and a fifty-two week high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $178.46 million for 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%. Research analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 13,346 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $735,764.98. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,344,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,136,288.02. The trade was a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 216,268 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total transaction of $11,903,390.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 293,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,145,708.80. This trade represents a 42.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 858,457 shares of company stock valued at $46,160,958 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 126.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.