Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Major Shareholder Jeffrey Westphal Sells 2,485,000 Shares

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 2,485,000 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total transaction of $121,516,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,065.50. This trade represents a 99.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Jeffrey Westphal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 3rd, Jeffrey Westphal sold 1,225,000 shares of Vertex stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $48,289,500.00.

Vertex Stock Performance

VERX opened at $49.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 274.72, a PEG ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.31 and a 52-week high of $52.93.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company had revenue of $170.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. Vertex’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its position in shares of Vertex by 551.9% in the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 949,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,231,000 after buying an additional 803,881 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,173,000. Brown Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,938,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex by 787.0% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 524,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,280,000 after purchasing an additional 465,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex by 40.1% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,863,000 after purchasing an additional 414,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Vertex from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Vertex from $43.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex from $50.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.30.

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.