Scalar Gauge Management LLC Acquires Shares of 220,970 Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Scalar Gauge Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 220,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,789,000. Vertex makes up about 5.4% of Scalar Gauge Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Vertex by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Vertex by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Vertex by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 17,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In related news, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,229,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,428,435.36. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of Vertex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.98, for a total value of $1,555,343.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 44.58% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $35.55 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.52. The firm has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. 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 (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $178.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.90 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 4.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VERX. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Vertex from $62.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Vertex from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.82.

About Vertex

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.