Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $1.26 Million in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 50,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Vertex by 36.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,336,000 after purchasing an additional 48,181 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 25.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 81,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 3,461 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vertex by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 101,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,582,000 after buying an additional 13,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gagnon Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 269,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Vertex from a “market outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Vertex from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Vertex from $42.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.40.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VERX opened at $18.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.61. Vertex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.13 and a fifty-two week high of $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $192.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.62 million. Vertex had a negative net margin of 7.32% and a positive return on equity of 26.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, November 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Vertex 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.