Brokerages Set Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Target Price at $41.00

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.67.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This trade represents a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422 over the last three months. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,859,000 after purchasing an additional 214,839 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 73.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,675,000 after buying an additional 331,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vital Farms by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,296,000 after buying an additional 31,187 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 73.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 679,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,766,000 after acquiring an additional 288,039 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Trading Up 4.7 %

Vital Farms stock opened at $39.38 on Thursday. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $14.16 and a 52-week high of $48.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current 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.