Telsey Advisory Group Initiates Coverage on Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)

Equities researchers at Telsey Advisory Group began coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.54% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Vital Farms Price Performance

NASDAQ VITL opened at $43.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.73. Vital Farms has a 52 week low of $14.37 and a 52 week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $916,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,038,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,115,595.02. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Vital Farms by 180.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 130.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter worth approximately $200,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vital Farms

Vital Farms, Inc, a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.