Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 7.1% After Earnings Beat

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s stock price traded up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $33.40 and last traded at $32.99. 2,140,477 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 74% from the average session volume of 1,229,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.79.

The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The business had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.32 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VITL shares. Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $1,036,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,014,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $302,973,099.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock valued at $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vital Farms Trading Up 7.6 %

The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $38.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms Company Profile

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.