Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Trading Down 7.5% - Time to Sell?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 7.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $46.68 and last traded at $46.76. 561,098 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 829,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VERX has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson started coverage on Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Vertex from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.36.

Vertex Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 258.39, a P/E/G ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.48.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 40,966 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.16, for a total value of $2,136,786.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,389,134 shares in the company, valued at $72,457,229.44. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 25,607 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total value of $1,409,665.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,217,356.60. This trade represents a 10.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 930,550 shares of company stock valued at $50,008,277 in the last three months. 44.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Vertex during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex during the 4th quarter worth about $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.