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

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) shares were down 17.3% during trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.90 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on VERX shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Five research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, insider Jeffrey Westphal sold 575,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $30,480,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,513.95. The trade was a 98.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 858,457 shares of company stock worth $46,160,958 in the last three months. 44.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,858,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,927,000 after purchasing an additional 137,666 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in Vertex by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,527,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,198,000 after purchasing an additional 53,829 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,868,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,031,000 after buying an additional 580,664 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,129,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,587,000 after buying an additional 439,054 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vertex by 342.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,754,000 after buying an additional 1,171,576 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Down 6.5 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 179.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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.