Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 4.3%

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shares rose 4.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $31.97 and last traded at $31.87. Approximately 243,461 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 666,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VITL shares. TD Cowen raised Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $28.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.60.

Vital Farms Trading Up 1.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $147.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.41 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 22.77%. The company’s revenue was up 38.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total transaction of $949,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,266,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,619,033.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $949,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,266,777 shares in the company, valued at $287,619,033.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $1,939,893.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 427,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,700,842.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 168,550 shares of company stock valued at $7,118,840. 30.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vital Farms by 9.2% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,650,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,613,000 after buying an additional 224,335 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,801,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,895,000 after purchasing an additional 152,743 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,859,000 after buying an additional 214,839 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 862,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,056,000 after buying an additional 463,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 73.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,675,000 after buying an additional 331,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.