Next Century Growth Investors LLC Trims Stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Next Century Growth Investors LLC lessened its position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 326,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 177,194 shares during the quarter. Vertex accounts for 1.3% of Next Century Growth Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Next Century Growth Investors LLC’s holdings in Vertex were worth $17,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Vertex by 342.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,576 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,868,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,031,000 after purchasing an additional 580,664 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Vertex by 1,100.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 572,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,530,000 after buying an additional 524,572 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Vertex by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,029,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,035,000 after buying an additional 440,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,129,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,587,000 after buying an additional 439,054 shares in the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VERX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.82.

Vertex Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $38.48 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 213.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.37. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.22 and a fifty-two week high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.90 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total transaction of $1,555,343.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.