Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target Raised to $44.00

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $34.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.74% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VITL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of VITL stock traded down $2.29 on Friday, reaching $42.83. The company had a trading volume of 256,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,709. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.33 and its 200 day moving average is $35.88. Vital Farms has a one year low of $14.37 and a one year high of $48.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41 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.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $1,036,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,014,890 shares in the company, valued at $302,973,099.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 180.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $168,000. 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.