TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 766,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325,040 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned about 0.48% of Vertex worth $15,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Herald Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Vertex by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,958,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,387,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,917,000 after buying an additional 689,143 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,136,000 after buying an additional 275,520 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC grew its holdings in Vertex by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 378,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,388,000 after buying an additional 108,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Vertex by 231.0% during 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 buying an additional 2,490,097 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex news, Director Eric C. Andersen purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 150,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,940,902.31. The trade was a 36.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Price Performance

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $13.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -263.40 and a beta of 0.81. Vertex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.59 and a 1 year high of $42.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 26.04% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.The business had revenue of $196.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.82 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VERX. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on Vertex in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on Vertex from $37.00 to $25.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Vertex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.93.

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.