Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 7.58% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VITL. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Vital Farms Stock Up 3.5 %

VITL stock opened at $32.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.70. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $22.82 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total transaction of $1,885,086.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. This represents a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 141,474 shares of company stock worth $5,844,140. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 417.8% during 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 position in shares of Vital Farms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,307,000 after buying an additional 87,980 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,172,000 after acquiring an additional 516,139 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 64.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 955,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,028,000 after purchasing an additional 89,772 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.