Needham & Company LLC Lowers Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target to $13.00

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $20.00 to $13.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 45.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VITL. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Vital Farms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Mizuho set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vital Farms from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $8.94 on Monday. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $8.40 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $383.08 million, a P/E ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 1.20.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The company had revenue of $187.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Vital Farms will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karl Khoury purchased 5,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.45 per share, for a total transaction of $92,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 119,789 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,107.05. This represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $406,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,321,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,509,792.70. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 21.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 1,998.7% during the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,261,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,933,000 after buying an additional 2,153,775 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,405,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,836,000 after buying an additional 447,728 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 76,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after buying an additional 36,758 shares during the last quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 1st quarter valued at about $449,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 2,002 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.