Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Down 17.3% Following Weak Earnings

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) shares dropped 17.3% on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $36.00 and last traded at $35.25. Approximately 643,491 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 938,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.63.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.91.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 575,000 shares of Vertex 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,513.95. The trade was a 98.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Destefano sold 216,268 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total transaction of $11,903,390.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 293,345 shares in the company, valued at $16,145,708.80. This represents a 42.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 858,457 shares of company stock worth $46,160,958. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,171,576 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,825,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 233.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 851,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,409,000 after purchasing an additional 596,077 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Vertex by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,868,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,031,000 after buying an additional 580,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 3rd quarter worth about $20,938,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Trading Down 19.0 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.83. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 191.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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.