Fred Alger Management LLC Cuts Stake in Vertex, Inc. $VERX

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) by 58.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 702,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 987,083 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.44% of Vertex worth $17,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VERX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex during the second quarter worth $54,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex by 25.7% in the first 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 period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex during the 3rd quarter worth $130,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Vertex by 108.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Vertex by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Vertex from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Vertex from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. DA Davidson set a $13.00 price target on shares of Vertex in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vertex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex

In other Vertex news, insider Jeffrey Westphal acquired 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.53 per share, with a total value of $1,879,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 397,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,983,682.20. This trade represents a 60.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric C. Andersen acquired 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.91 per share, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 150,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,940,902.31. This trade represents a 36.25% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 437,740 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,339. 43.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:VERX opened at $13.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 331.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.64. Vertex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.86 and a 52-week high of $42.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. The company had revenue of $194.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.33 million. Vertex had a return on equity of 24.70% and a net margin of 0.96%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

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.