Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $55.52 and last traded at $55.15, with a volume of 747701 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Vertex from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Vertex from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.30.

Vertex Stock Down 1.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 306.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.67. 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 moving average is $43.84 and its 200-day moving average is $38.55.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The business had revenue of $170.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $165.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other Vertex news, Director John Richard Stamm sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total value of $134,525.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,938.35. This trade represents a 13.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $48,289,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $311,220.90. The trade was a 99.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,174,322 shares of company stock valued at $191,221,333. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex by 6.1% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 126.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Vertex by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 4.4% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the company's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. 59.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.