Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,959 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Vertex by 406.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 27,602 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Vertex by 46.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Vertex by 344.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Vertex by 36.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 469,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,081,000 after purchasing an additional 124,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Vertex by 126.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Stock Performance

Vertex stock opened at $36.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 200.89, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.22 and a fifty-two week high of $60.71.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $178.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.90 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.48, for a total value of $3,041,052.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,428,435.36. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on VERX shares. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.82.

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.