Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Hits New 52-Week High at $26.43

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.43 and last traded at $26.04, with a volume of 295718 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VITL. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Vital Farms from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.20.

Vital Farms Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 46.55 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $135.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.10 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 14.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 0.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Matthew Ohayer sold 100,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.38, for a total transaction of $2,138,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 7,582,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,119,772.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 36,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.07, for a total transaction of $926,286.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 368,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,244,637.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Matthew Ohayer sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.38, for a total transaction of $2,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 7,582,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,119,772.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 280,125 shares of company stock valued at $6,083,396. Corporate insiders own 30.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 211.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at approximately $119,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Vital Farms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 10,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares during the period. 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.