Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Up 4.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shot up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $45.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vital Farms traded as high as $39.35 and last traded at $39.13. 283,617 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 567,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.60.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This trade represents a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $916,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,038,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock worth $5,328,422. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Vital Farms by 180.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in Vital Farms by 130.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter worth $168,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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 cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.96.

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

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.