Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $16.77 and last traded at $16.91, with a volume of 664819 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VITL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Vital Farms from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Vital Farms Stock Down 3.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $703.31 million, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.30.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $213.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.83 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total transaction of $406,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,321,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,509,792.70. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karl Khoury bought 5,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 119,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,210,107.05. This represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 65,000 shares of company stock worth $1,736,050 in the last quarter. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its position in Vital Farms by 131.7% during the third quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 993,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,876,000 after purchasing an additional 564,711 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,377,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,692,000 after buying an additional 258,092 shares during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter worth $1,728,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 554.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 95,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,920,000 after buying an additional 80,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 807,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,089,000 after buying an additional 18,682 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.