Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Price Target Raised to $17.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) had its target price upped by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $14.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 17.84% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VERX. Citigroup cut their target price on Vertex from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Vertex from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on Vertex in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.79.

Vertex Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $14.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 361.02 and a beta of 0.81. Vertex has a 12-month low of $10.59 and a 12-month high of $42.44.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a net margin of 0.96% and a return on equity of 24.70%. The firm had revenue of $196.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.82 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Vertex’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other news, insider Jeffrey Westphal acquired 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.53 per share, for a total transaction of $1,879,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 397,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,983,682.20. This represents a 60.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen acquired 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.91 per share, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 437,740 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,339 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex by 9.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,917,000 after purchasing an additional 689,143 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,136,000 after purchasing an additional 275,520 shares during the period. Herald Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Vertex by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,958,000 after purchasing an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 378,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,388,000 after buying an additional 108,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 231.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,448,000 after buying an additional 2,490,097 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex

Vertex Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: VERX) is a specialty refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in the United States. The company collects and processes a variety of waste petroleum products, including used motor oil and industrial lubricants, which it converts into ultra-low-sulfur diesel, asphalt, and other refined products. By leveraging proprietary re-refining technologies and strategic feedstock sourcing, Vertex Energy aims to deliver cost-effective, lower-carbon fuel solutions to wholesale and retail customers across the country.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vertex operates a network of refining and blending facilities in key regions, including the Central, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.