Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $57.74 and last traded at $56.05, with a volume of 407516 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VERX. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vertex from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Vertex from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.30.

Vertex Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 303.56, a P/E/G ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.20 and its 200-day moving average is $39.19.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $48,289,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,220.90. The trade was a 99.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 3,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.08, for a total transaction of $166,341.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,202,949 shares of company stock worth $192,797,340 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex in the second quarter worth $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 126.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Vertex during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank bought a new position in Vertex in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.10% of the company’s stock.

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.