Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Free Report) in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $60.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on VERX. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vertex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.82.

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Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.35. 1,190,940 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 960,947. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 196.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.52. Vertex has a one year low of $27.22 and a one year high of $60.71. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total transaction of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749.36. This trade represents 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 Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company's stock.

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.