Granahan Investment Management LLC Invests $6.92 Million in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Granahan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 216,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,917,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 59,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 65,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, insider Stephanie Coon acquired 5,895 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.42 per share, with a total value of $49,635.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 62,314 shares in the company, valued at $524,683.88. The trade was a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Glenda J. Flanagan acquired 6,100 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.33 per share, for a total transaction of $50,813.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 37,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,358.34. The trade was a 19.43% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 38,700 shares of company stock valued at $320,864 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 4th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vital Farms from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Vital Farms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $20.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL opened at $10.70 on Wednesday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a one year low of $7.95 and a one year high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.50 million, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.09.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.