Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for WEX (NYSE:WEX) Stock

WEX (NYSE:WEX) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $178.00 to $189.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 2.33% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded WEX from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $209.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on WEX from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.10.

WEX Stock Up 0.0%

WEX stock opened at $184.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93. WEX has a 12 month low of $125.29 and a 12 month high of $203.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.54.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $6.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.45. WEX had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 45.74%. The firm had revenue of $780.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $749.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEX will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In related news, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 28,109 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.09, for a total value of $5,343,239.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 126,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,146.25. This trade represents a 18.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Robert Deshaies sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.56, for a total value of $347,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,000,505.28. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,527 shares of company stock worth $6,558,910. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEX. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in WEX in the 2nd quarter worth about $559,710,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in WEX in the 2nd quarter valued at about $446,833,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in WEX during the second quarter worth $115,086,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 58.5% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 669,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $102,435,000 after purchasing an additional 246,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of WEX during the second quarter worth about $30,672,000. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Company Profile

WEX Inc (NYSE:WEX) is a financial technology company that provides payment-processing and business-management solutions. Its products are designed to help organizations manage corporate spending, employee benefits and mobility-related expenses through specialized payment accounts, software and data tools.

WEX’s mobility business serves commercial vehicle fleets with fuel cards, fleet-payment programs, expense controls, telematics integrations and related solutions. The company also supports emerging mobility needs, including electric-vehicle charging payments.