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

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.9091.

Several research analysts recently commented on VITL shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $586,526.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 649,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,771,424.20. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.92, for a total transaction of $798,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,422,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,992,474.40. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,734 shares of company stock valued at $3,350,177. Insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 896.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter worth about $105,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 18.9% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Trading Down 0.8%

VITL stock opened at $29.25 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.53. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $28.82 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The company had revenue of $198.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s revenue was up 37.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.