Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Vital Farms Call Options (NASDAQ:VITL)

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 5,269 call options on the company. This is an increase of 168% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,964 call options.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL traded down $2.88 on Thursday, reaching $31.01. 2,150,807 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,155,148. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87 and a beta of 0.90. Vital Farms has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $48.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.07. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. Equities analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $1,036,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,014,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,973,099.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,202 shares of company stock valued at $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 152.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Vital Farms by 160.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

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.