Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) were up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $32.48 and last traded at $32.55. Approximately 404,348 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 987,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VITL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Vital Farms Stock Up 3.5 %

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’s 50 day moving average price is $36.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98 and a beta of 0.95.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.32 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total transaction of $1,885,086.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,202 shares in the company, valued at $28,224,852.48. The trade was a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 141,474 shares of company stock worth $5,844,140. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Vital Farms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Vital Farms by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

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.