Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target Cut to $20.00 by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its price target lowered by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $35.00 to $20.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 53.73% from the stock’s current price.

VITL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson set a $47.00 price target on Vital Farms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Benchmark lowered Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Vital Farms from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.82.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $13.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.75. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $12.99 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $582.81 million, a P/E ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 1.14.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $213.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.83 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 8.73%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total transaction of $771,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,361,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,242,711.50. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karl Khoury acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 119,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,210,107.05. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 65,000 shares of company stock worth $1,736,050 over the last 90 days. 21.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 21,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,709 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 129.2% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 168,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,374,000 after purchasing an additional 82,086 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,047,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,412,000 after purchasing an additional 26,150 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.