Brokerages Set Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Target Price at $42.00

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VITL shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock.

Vital Farms Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $33.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a 12-month low of $24.52 and a 12-month high of $48.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.54 and its 200-day moving average is $35.60.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total transaction of $541,815.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,035,242.15. This represents a 21.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,546 shares of company stock worth $3,567,030 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Vital Farms by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Vital Farms by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Vital Farms by 152.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by 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.