Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,440,000 shares, a decrease of 24.0% from the November 30th total of 9,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 23.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $916,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,038,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was 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 $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock worth $5,328,422 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,616,000 after purchasing an additional 5,736 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at approximately $487,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in Vital Farms during the second quarter worth $725,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Vital Farms by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Vital Farms Trading Down 0.9 %

VITL stock opened at $37.01 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.66 and a 200-day moving average of $36.18. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04 and a beta of 0.93. Vital Farms has a twelve month low of $14.16 and a twelve month high of $48.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.