Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 56.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 506,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 667,224 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Vital Farms were worth $7,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 17,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 133.3% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 1st quarter valued at about $233,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 35.8% in the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 11,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 1.7% in the first quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports 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 for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $25.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Craig Hallum cut shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.08.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL stock opened at $12.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $546.77 million, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.07. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.95 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.82.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $187.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, insider Peter Nicholas Pappas acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.51 per share, for a total transaction of $29,785.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 85,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,788.19. This trade represents a 4.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Glenda J. Flanagan bought 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $312,358.34. This trade represents a 19.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 38,700 shares of company stock worth $320,864 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

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.