Vital Farms’ (VITL) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $45.00 price objective on the stock.

VITL has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson set a $47.00 target price on Vital Farms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Vital Farms from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Vital Farms from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.91.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of VITL opened at $28.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.79. Vital Farms has a twelve month low of $26.65 and a twelve month high of $53.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total value of $771,250.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,361,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,242,711.50. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was 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 $22,771,424.20. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 101,734 shares of company stock worth $3,350,177 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 0.4% during the third quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,828,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Vital Farms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 59,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Vital Farms by 18.9% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 65,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cim LLC raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 12,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vital Farms

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.