Vital Farms Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:VITL)

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 2,402 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 94% compared to the typical volume of 1,241 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $586,526.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 649,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,771,424.20. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total value of $771,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,361,190 shares in the company, valued at $196,242,711.50. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,734 shares of company stock valued at $3,350,177. Corporate insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 0.4% in the third quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,828,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 59,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 18.9% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC grew its position in Vital Farms by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 12,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in Vital Farms by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 8,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 5.7%

NASDAQ:VITL opened at $28.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 1.11. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $26.65 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.16.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $198.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.35 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VITL shares. DA Davidson set a $47.00 price target on Vital Farms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Vital Farms from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.91.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.