JMP Securities Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by analysts at JMP Securities from $47.00 to $61.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market outperform" rating on the stock. JMP Securities' price target indicates a potential upside of 18.84% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Vertex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.27.

Vertex Stock Performance

NASDAQ VERX traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $51.33. 1,943,342 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,598. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 427.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.67. Vertex has a 12-month low of $22.31 and a 12-month high of $51.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.88 and a 200 day moving average of $36.45.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $161.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.66 million. Vertex had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 22.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Jac sold 56,419 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.77, for a total value of $2,300,202.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 932,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,026,423.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex news, insider Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Jac sold 56,419 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.77, for a total value of $2,300,202.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 932,706 shares in the company, valued at $38,026,423.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John R. Schwab sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.81, for a total transaction of $895,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,901,654.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,629,244 shares of company stock valued at $64,039,589. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Vertex during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in Vertex during the second quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Vertex by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.10% 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.