Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective 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.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VITL opened at $38.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $14.16 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.99.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Vital Farms’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This trade represents a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock worth $5,328,422 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 7,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 6.5% during the third quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 180.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.