Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $34.90, but opened at $33.74. Vital Farms shares last traded at $32.99, with a volume of 284,416 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VITL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Vital Farms Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $268,815,209.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 417.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,550 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,307,000 after purchasing an additional 87,980 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,172,000 after acquiring an additional 516,139 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,058,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,904,000 after purchasing an additional 415,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 955,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,028,000 after buying an additional 89,772 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is 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.