Morgan Stanley Lowers Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target to $39.00

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $39.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.22% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on VITL. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.13.

Vital Farms Trading Down 0.1 %

Vital Farms stock opened at $32.99 on Thursday. Vital Farms has a one year low of $24.75 and a one year high of $48.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. On average, analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.46, for a total value of $589,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,970,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $205,362,419.40. This represents a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total transaction of $1,520,227.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 703,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,708,865.84. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,124 shares of company stock worth $3,271,548. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,765,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 38.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,343,000 after acquiring an additional 74,593 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter valued at $699,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,066,000 after purchasing an additional 34,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 34,758 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.