Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock.

VITL has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Vital Farms Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of VITL opened at $39.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Vital Farms has a 12 month low of $14.16 and a 12 month high of $48.41.

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

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,381 shares of company stock worth $4,411,862 in the last 90 days. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 14,426 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 882.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 20,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 18,252 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Vital Farms by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 300,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,553,000 after acquiring an additional 121,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter valued at $848,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.