Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 40.13% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on VERX. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.91.

Vertex Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of VERX opened at $39.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Vertex has a 1-year low of $27.22 and a 1-year high of $60.71. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 218.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.35.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.90 million. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total transaction of $3,041,052.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,229,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total transaction of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Vertex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.