Short Interest in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Decreases By 24.0%

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,440,000 shares, a drop of 24.0% from the November 30th total of 9,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Approximately 23.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,194,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at $21,531,574.43. This trade represents a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,381 shares of company stock worth $5,328,422 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 180.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in Vital Farms by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $97,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Vital Farms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $168,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VITL. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VITL traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.35. The stock had a trading volume of 694,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,511. 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 cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35 and a beta of 0.94. Vital Farms has a one year low of $14.16 and a one year high of $48.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.21.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.