Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Up 7.4% – Here’s What Happened

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s stock price shot up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.27 and last traded at $12.3320. Approximately 250,413 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,847,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VERX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Vertex from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $15.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.47.

Vertex Stock Up 8.0%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -248.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 26.04% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.The firm had revenue of $196.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VERX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Vertex by 36.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,336,000 after acquiring an additional 48,181 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Vertex by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 3,461 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex by 92.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 8,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Vertex by 10,910.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 13,420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Company Profile

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.