Stifel Nicolaus Raises Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target to $42.00

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its target price lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on Vital Farms from $28.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $19.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $34.80.

Vital Farms Price Performance

NASDAQ VITL opened at $37.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.60. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $10.30 and a 52-week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $147.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.87 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 7.48% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 9,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $292,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 403,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,110,790. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $949,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,266,777 shares in the company, valued at $287,619,033.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 9,735 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $292,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 403,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,110,790. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 203,056 shares of company stock worth $8,275,393 over the last three months. 30.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 862,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,056,000 after purchasing an additional 463,471 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,650,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,613,000 after purchasing an additional 224,335 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth about $3,016,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 82.1% during the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 373,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,681,000 after purchasing an additional 168,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vital Farms by 9.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,801,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,895,000 after buying an additional 152,743 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.