Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.9091.

Several research firms recently weighed in on VITL. Zacks Research cut shares of Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Vital Farms from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $47.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Vital Farms Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $26.19 on Friday. Vital Farms has a twelve month low of $25.52 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.67 and its 200 day moving average is $37.49. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $558,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,341,190 shares in the company, valued at $176,982,612.90. The trade was a 0.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 91,734 shares of company stock worth $2,921,477 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 80.2% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,074,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,921,000 after acquiring an additional 923,507 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Vital Farms by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,234,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,534,000 after purchasing an additional 608,723 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 131.7% in the 3rd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 993,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,876,000 after purchasing an additional 564,711 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,845,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,892,000 after purchasing an additional 530,008 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,173,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,474,000 after purchasing an additional 519,369 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vital Farms

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.