Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson increased their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,464,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 651.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,112,000 after purchasing an additional 428,382 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 364,837 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 73.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,675,000 after buying an additional 331,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 73.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 679,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,766,000 after purchasing an additional 288,039 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $38.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.99. Vital Farms has a 52 week low of $14.16 and a 52 week high of $48.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

About Vital Farms

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.