Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $34.90, but opened at $33.74. Vital Farms shares last traded at $32.99, with a volume of 284,416 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VITL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Vital Farms Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46 and a beta of 0.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,765,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 38.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,343,000 after buying an additional 74,593 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 6.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after buying an additional 14,426 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,066,000 after buying an additional 34,412 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Vital Farms by 882.6% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 20,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 18,252 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vital Farms

Vital Farms, Inc, a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.