Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Stock Price Down 12.1% – Time to Sell?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s stock price was down 12.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $16.21 and last traded at $16.4350. Approximately 2,441,469 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,523,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VERX shares. JMP Securities set a $37.00 target price on Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Vertex from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Vertex in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.60.

Vertex Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.41 and a 200 day moving average of $23.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Vertex declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, November 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VERX. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Vertex in the second quarter valued at about $300,348,000. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,293,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Vertex by 231.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,567,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490,097 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex in the second quarter worth about $60,381,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 2,730.1% in the third quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,343,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,297 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.