Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) Trading 4.8% Higher – What’s Next?

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) shot up 4.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $12.95 and last traded at $13.0680. 42,174 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 1,954,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VERX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Vertex from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Vertex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Vertex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.43.

Vertex Stock Up 5.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 656.53 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Vertex by 36.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 180,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,336,000 after purchasing an additional 48,181 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 4.4% in 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 buying an additional 3,461 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex by 92.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 8,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex by 10,910.6% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 13,420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.32% of the company’s stock.

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.