Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 4.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shares rose 4.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $45.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vital Farms traded as high as $39.35 and last traded at $39.13. Approximately 283,617 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 567,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.60.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on VITL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $938,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,531,574.43. The trade was a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 29.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,859,000 after buying an additional 214,839 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Vital Farms by 73.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,675,000 after acquiring an additional 331,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,296,000 after purchasing an additional 31,187 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after purchasing an additional 364,837 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 35.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 655,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 172,249 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.01.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.