Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Price Down 4.9% – Time to Sell?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s share price traded down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.15 and last traded at $12.1570. 182,247 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,836,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson set a $15.00 price target on Vertex in a report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Vertex from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price target on Vertex in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.93.

Vertex Stock Down 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -248.70 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.51.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $196.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.82 million. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 26.04% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.Vertex’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex by 9.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,917,000 after purchasing an additional 689,143 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Vertex during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,796,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Vertex by 9.2% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,728,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,640,000 after purchasing an additional 229,774 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Vertex by 76.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,161,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,584,000 after purchasing an additional 937,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Vertex by 19.9% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,049,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,807,000 after purchasing an additional 340,680 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Company Profile

Vertex Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: VERX) is a specialty refiner and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in the United States. The company collects and processes a variety of waste petroleum products, including used motor oil and industrial lubricants, which it converts into ultra-low-sulfur diesel, asphalt, and other refined products. By leveraging proprietary re-refining technologies and strategic feedstock sourcing, Vertex Energy aims to deliver cost-effective, lower-carbon fuel solutions to wholesale and retail customers across the country.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vertex operates a network of refining and blending facilities in key regions, including the Central, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.