Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 3.8% – Here’s Why

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) was up 3.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $32.48 and last traded at $32.55. Approximately 404,348 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 987,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Vital Farms Stock Down 2.4 %

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 firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.67.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. Analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total value of $517,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares in the company, valued at $1,944,222.24. The trade was a 21.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at about $789,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth $301,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 6.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after buying an additional 14,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the third quarter worth about $286,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.