Pier Capital LLC Buys 60,230 Shares of Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Pier Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 291,859 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 60,230 shares during the quarter. Pier Capital LLC’s holdings in Vertex were worth $7,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VERX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex by 108.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 3,012 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Vertex by 37.9% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex by 17.0% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the period. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Price Performance

Shares of Vertex stock opened at $13.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 343.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Vertex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.86 and a 12 month high of $42.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.40.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. The company had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.33 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.Vertex’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex

In other Vertex news, insider Jeffrey Westphal acquired 247,740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.08 per share, for a total transaction of $3,240,439.20. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 247,740 shares in the company, valued at $3,240,439.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen acquired 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $516,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 150,341 shares in the company, valued at $1,940,902.31. This represents a 36.25% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 437,740 shares of company stock worth $5,636,339 over the last three months. Insiders own 43.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VERX. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Vertex from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price objective on Vertex in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $25.00 price objective on Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.07.

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.