Needham & Company LLC Cuts Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target to $20.00

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $35.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 53.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on VITL. Benchmark downgraded Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Vital Farms from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on Vital Farms from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.82.

Vital Farms Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of VITL stock opened at $13.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.16 and a 200-day moving average of $31.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vital Farms has a 12-month low of $12.99 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The company has a market capitalization of $582.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 1.14.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $213.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.83 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 8.73%.The company’s revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Farms news, Director Karl Khoury purchased 5,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.45 per share, for a total transaction of $92,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 119,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,107.05. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total value of $771,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,361,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,242,711.50. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 65,000 shares of company stock worth $1,736,050 over the last 90 days. 21.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

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

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.