Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Shares Up 7.1% – Here’s Why

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX)’s share price traded up 7.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $11.65 and last traded at $11.6610. Approximately 1,575,726 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 1,846,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on VERX shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vertex from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Vertex from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Vertex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Vertex in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.20.

Vertex Stock Up 7.3%

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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -233.80 and a beta of 0.83.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $196.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.82 million. Vertex had a positive return on equity of 26.04% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 48,181 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Vertex by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 8,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Vertex by 10,910.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 13,420 shares during the last quarter. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vertex

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.