Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 136,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,563,000. Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Vertex as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Vertex in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,796,000. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth $88,293,000. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex by 2,730.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,343,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,312,000 after buying an additional 1,296,297 shares during the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,988,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vertex by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,161,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,584,000 after buying an additional 937,905 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VERX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reduced their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vertex from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of Vertex in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Vertex from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.43.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX opened at $12.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.21 and a 52-week high of $26.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 618.81 and a beta of 0.83.

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

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.