Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Now Covered by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VERX. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.33.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX opened at $39.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.35. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 217.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. Vertex has a one year low of $27.22 and a one year high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 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 firm had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.90 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 132 shares in the company, valued at $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

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

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.