Vertex tumbles after BofA downgrades on limited growth, margin potential

Vertex

04/10/2021 14:58

** Shares of tax software solutions provider Vertex Inc
 VERX.O  down ~8% at $18.58
    ** Stock on track for biggest one-day pct fall in 4 months 
    ** BofA downgrades to "underperform" from "neutral" on
slowing growth, negative margin leverage 
    ** Cuts PT to $20 from $24, implying a downside of nearly 1%
to stock's last close 
    ** Says co's ramped investment in marketing in recent years
has negatively impacted EBITDA margin but has not yielded
results
    ** Adds net revenue retention has slowed to 106% in Q2 2021
from 108% a year earlier
    ** Six of 8 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, and
the rest "sell"; their median PT is $25
    ** Up to Friday's close, stock is down ~42% 

 (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru)
 ((DeborahMary.Sophia@thomsonreuters.com;))