Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 4.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) traded up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $45.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vital Farms traded as high as $39.35 and last traded at $39.13. 283,617 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 567,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.60.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $938,160.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Vital Farms by 180.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the second quarter valued at about $97,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 130.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $168,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Trading Up 4.3 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.