Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Trading Down 6.9% – Should You Sell?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shares traded down 6.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $42.32 and last traded at $41.92. 184,387 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 994,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VITL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised 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. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.67.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.76.

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

Insider Activity

In other Vital Farms news, 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 value of $517,584.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares in the company, valued at $1,944,222.24. This represents a 21.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 125,656 shares of company stock worth $5,003,687. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,464,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 651.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,112,000 after buying an additional 428,382 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 106.8% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after buying an additional 364,837 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,894,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 93.9% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,646,000 after acquiring an additional 257,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.