Gagnon Securities LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Gagnon Securities LLC decreased its stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the period. Vertex comprises about 1.9% of Gagnon Securities LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Gagnon Securities LLC’s holdings in Vertex were worth $9,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,287,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,102,000 after buying an additional 54,985 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 17.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,690,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,444,000 after acquiring an additional 253,263 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 40.1% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,863,000 after acquiring an additional 414,945 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Vertex by 36.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,361,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,447,000 after acquiring an additional 363,595 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,275,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,121,000 after acquiring an additional 37,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 2,485,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $121,516,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,065.50. This represents a 99.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,632,062 shares of company stock worth $182,311,362 over the last ninety days. 44.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $57.75 on Friday. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.17 and a 52-week high of $60.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $54.65 and its 200 day moving average is $45.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 320.83, a PEG ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on VERX shares. Raymond James reiterated 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 stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson began coverage on Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.36.

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.