Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Down 5.7% – Here’s Why

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s share price was down 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $38.09 and last traded at $41.40. Approximately 733,088 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,039,834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VITL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum assumed 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen boosted their target price 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, DA Davidson raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Vital Farms Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its 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 company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. Vital Farms’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957 over the last quarter. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,172,000 after purchasing an additional 516,139 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $16,464,000. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 106.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter worth $9,894,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 93.9% during the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.