WEX (NYSE:WEX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $148.29, but opened at $160.51. WEX shares last traded at $156.59, with a volume of 187,633 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WEX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEX has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.73.

WEX Stock Up 6.3 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $171.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.05. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. As a group, analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WEX

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in WEX by 300.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,375,000 after purchasing an additional 51,423 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in WEX by 1,635.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 8,277 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in WEX by 672.7% in the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 154,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,305,000 after acquiring an additional 134,099 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in WEX by 289.0% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in WEX by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WEX

WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings.