Wasatch Advisors LP Reduces Position in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Wasatch Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 28.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,933,119 shares of the company’s stock after selling 754,127 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 4.31% of Vital Farms worth $27,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 65,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 35,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Peter Nicholas Pappas bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.51 per share, with a total value of $29,785.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,788.19. This represents a 4.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Michael Holland bought 12,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $99,872.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 38,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $305,200. The trade was a 48.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 38,700 shares of company stock worth $320,864. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $11.19 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.56. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.95 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $479.49 million, a P/E ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.09.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $187.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VITL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.33.

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.