Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Down 17.3% on Disappointing Earnings

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX - Get Free Report) traded down 17.3% on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $36.00 and last traded at $35.25. 643,491 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 938,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.63.

The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.90 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.00.

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Insider Transactions at Vertex

In other news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 575,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $30,480,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $418,513.95. This trade represents a 98.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 858,457 shares of company stock worth $46,160,958 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 44.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Vertex by 342.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,576 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth $61,825,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Vertex by 233.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 851,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,409,000 after buying an additional 596,077 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,868,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,031,000 after acquiring an additional 580,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the third quarter worth about $20,938,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company's stock.

Vertex Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 178.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78.

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.