Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VERX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.43.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VERX opened at $12.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 647.82 and a beta of 0.83. Vertex has a fifty-two week low of $10.21 and a fifty-two week high of $26.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.01. Vertex had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the first quarter worth about $37,796,000. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in Vertex by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Hyperion Capital Advisors LP now owns 650,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,980,000 after acquiring an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 1,906.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,125,000 after purchasing an additional 889,042 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,836,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex by 8.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 290,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 21,700 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Company Profile

Vertex, Inc (NASDAQ:VERX) is a provider of tax technology solutions designed to help businesses manage transaction tax compliance. Its software supports the calculation, collection, reporting and remittance of taxes such as sales and use tax, value-added tax, goods and services tax, and communications tax.

The company offers cloud-based and enterprise tax solutions that integrate with accounting, enterprise resource planning, e-commerce and other business systems. Its products are designed to automate tax determination, tax returns and compliance workflows, manage tax data and support tax content across complex business operations.

Founded in 1978, Vertex is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and serves organizations in the United States and international markets.