Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Trading Down 6.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) were down 6.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $42.32 and last traded at $41.92. Approximately 184,387 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 994,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on VITL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Vital Farms Trading Down 4.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.76. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28 and a beta of 0.88.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other news, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $517,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 46,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,944,222.24. This represents a 21.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $916,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,038,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 125,656 shares of company stock valued at $5,003,687. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,464,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 651.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,112,000 after buying an additional 428,382 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 364,837 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth $9,894,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,646,000 after acquiring an additional 257,492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.