Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Given New $36.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VERX. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Vertex from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $36.11.

Vertex Stock Down 0.8 %

VERX stock opened at $35.75 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.70 and its 200 day moving average is $29.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 893.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Vertex has a 1-year low of $17.59 and a 1-year high of $36.36.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $156.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.50 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 1.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.93, for a total transaction of $49,395,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,554,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,124,328.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 45.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth $72,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Sandia Investment Management LP bought a new position in Vertex in the first quarter worth about $159,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex in the first quarter worth about $166,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Institutional investors own 59.10% 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.