Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL Stake Boosted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,845,714 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 530,008 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Vital Farms worth $90,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Vital Farms by 119.4% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 238,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,631,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 248,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,924,000 after purchasing an additional 54,192 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Vital Farms by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,887 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth about $582,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group increased its stake in Vital Farms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 65,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Vital Farms

Here are the key news stories impacting Vital Farms this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm issued another reminder that investors who bought Vital Farms shares during the class period may be eligible to seek compensation in the securities lawsuit, reinforcing ongoing litigation headlines. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Levi & Korsinsky published an investor alert alleging Vital Farms inflated revenue projections, adding to concerns about the company’s prior disclosures. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple other firms, including Pomerantz, Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman, Faruqi & Faruqi, and The Gross Law Firm, also circulated class-action notices and lead-plaintiff reminders, keeping the lawsuit in the spotlight. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst sentiment also appears weaker, with Needham & Company reportedly cutting its price target on Vital Farms to $13.00, which may have added to investor caution. Article Title

Insider Activity

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

Vital Farms Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $8.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $356.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.95 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.65.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VITL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen cut Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price objective on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $20.00 price objective on Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Vital Farms 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.