Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $34.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 2.77% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

Vital Farms Stock Down 5.1 %

VITL traded down $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.82. The company had a trading volume of 256,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,709. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.33 and a 200-day moving average of $35.88. Vital Farms has a 1-year low of $14.37 and a 1-year high of $48.41. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Vital Farms’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $517,584.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,944,222.24. This represents a 21.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 180.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter valued at $168,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 130.0% in 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 period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.