Cannon Global Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)

Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,000. Vertex comprises approximately 1.8% of Cannon Global Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VERX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,555,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,673,000 after acquiring an additional 637,075 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,651,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,454,000 after acquiring an additional 404,550 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 1,517.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,244,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,193 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,832,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,311,000 after acquiring an additional 452,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,378,000 after acquiring an additional 126,230 shares during the last quarter. 59.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $36.05. The company had a trading volume of 8,767,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,271. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.59 and a 52-week high of $36.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 901.25, a PEG ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). Vertex had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The company had revenue of $156.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.50 million. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Vertex from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Vertex from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Jeffrey Westphal sold 791,133 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $23,773,546.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,554,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,716,962.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 45.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.