Brokerages Set Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) Price Target at $17.43

Shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.4286.

Several research firms recently weighed in on VERX. Jefferies Financial Group set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Vertex in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Stephens lowered their target price on Vertex from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Monday, June 8th.

Vertex Stock Performance

Shares of VERX opened at $13.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 688.84 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $12.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Vertex has a 12-month low of $10.21 and a 12-month high of $26.54.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. Vertex had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VERX. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Vertex during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,182,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter valued at $1,766,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Vertex during the second quarter valued at $468,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Vertex by 1,294.3% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 951,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,928,000 after purchasing an additional 883,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Vertex during the second quarter valued at about $166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

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.