Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Sets New 52-Week High at $28.93

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.93 and last traded at $28.82, with a volume of 78716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Vital Farms from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet raised shares of Vital Farms from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Vital Farms from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Vital Farms Stock Up 3.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.74 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.27 and its 200-day moving average is $17.30.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 5.42%. The firm had revenue of $135.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 36,948 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 368,753 shares in the company, valued at $9,244,637.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vital Farms news, Director Karl Khoury sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.27, for a total value of $85,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 155,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,317.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 36,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.07, for a total value of $926,286.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 368,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,244,637.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,580,996 in the last three months. 30.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 52.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 211.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth $119,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth about $127,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 10,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.