Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Down 7.5% – Here’s Why

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s share price dropped 7.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $46.68 and last traded at $46.76. Approximately 561,098 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 829,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VERX has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.36.

Vertex Trading Down 10.9 %

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 market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 248.22, a P/E/G ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.76 and its 200 day moving average is $46.28.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 575,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $30,480,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,513.95. This represents a 98.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 40,966 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,389,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,457,229.44. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 952,825 shares of company stock worth $51,112,003. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at $8,693,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,527,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,198,000 after buying an additional 53,829 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 561,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,937,000 after acquiring an additional 22,340 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex

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.