Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Trading Down 4.5% – Should You Sell?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s share price was down 4.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $13.11 and last traded at $13.1810. Approximately 1,131,613 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 2,139,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson set a $47.00 price target on Vital Farms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research lowered Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Vital Farms from $50.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Vital Farms Trading Down 2.7%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.01. The stock has a market cap of $601.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $213.55 million during 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 business’s revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total transaction of $771,250.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,361,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,242,711.50. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karl Khoury bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 119,789 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,107.05. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,000 shares of company stock worth $1,736,050. 21.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 80.2% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,074,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,921,000 after purchasing an additional 923,507 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at $25,534,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 466.5% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,094,000 after buying an additional 641,394 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,234,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,534,000 after buying an additional 608,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 131.7% in the 3rd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 993,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,876,000 after buying an additional 564,711 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% 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.