Scalar Gauge Management LLC Invests $11.79 Million in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Scalar Gauge Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 220,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,789,000. Vertex accounts for about 5.4% of Scalar Gauge Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Scalar Gauge Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Vertex as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX opened at $35.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 197.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.52. Vertex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.22 and a 52 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $176.90 million. Vertex had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 24.92%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Vertex from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vertex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Bryan T.R. Rowland sold 43,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 $4,749.36. This trade represents a 99.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Item Second Irr. Trust Fbo Kyl sold 53,843 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.