Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 3.8% – Still a Buy?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s stock price was up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $32.48 and last traded at $32.55. Approximately 404,348 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 987,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VITL. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 0.95.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total value of $125,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,966,890 shares in the company, valued at $218,690,677.10. This represents a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. This represents a 6.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 160.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

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.