Peter Nicholas Pappas Purchases 3,500 Shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) insider Peter Nicholas Pappas purchased 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.51 per share, with a total value of $29,785.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 85,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,788.19. The trade was a 4.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL stock opened at $9.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $392.93 million, a P/E ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.87. Vital Farms, Inc. has a one year low of $7.95 and a one year high of $53.13.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VITL has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $20.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Trending Headlines about Vital Farms

Here are the key news stories impacting Vital Farms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several Vital Farms insiders bought stock at around $8.00-$8.51 per share, including directors Kelly Kennedy and Kofi Owusu Amoo-Gottfried, plus CMO Kathryn McKeon and other executives. Insider buying can signal confidence that management sees value at current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains mixed, with coverage still leaning to a “Hold” consensus and multiple firms recently cutting price targets. That suggests Wall Street is cautious on the near-term outlook, but not uniformly bearish.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms continue to promote a securities-fraud class action against Vital Farms, with a key lead-plaintiff deadline approaching on May 26. The ongoing litigation headlines add uncertainty and can weigh on investor sentiment.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 40,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 5,851 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 4,471 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 85.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 17,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 7,902 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,046,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 222,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,142,000 after buying an additional 37,223 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.