Key Points
- Vital Farms insider buying: Insider Hoven Reena Chauhan Van purchased 2,242 shares at an average price of $8.92, a transaction worth about $20,000 and increasing their stake by 9.51%.
- Stock and earnings pressure: Shares were down 2% and recently traded near $9.24, well below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company also missed quarterly EPS estimates, although revenue came in above expectations and rose 15.4% year over year.
- Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: Analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating on Vital Farms, with several firms cutting price targets sharply in recent reports. The average target price is $27.33, though that is still well above the current share price.
Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) insider Hoven Reena Chauhan Van bought 2,242 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.92 per share, with a total value of $19,998.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 25,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,376.84. The trade was a 9.51% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
Vital Farms Stock Down 2.0%
VITL opened at $9.24 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.53. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.95 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $395.93 million, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.20.
Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.10%.The company had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
VITL has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price objective on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Vital Farms from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.33.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Vital Farms
Institutional Trading of Vital Farms
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,845,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,892,000 after buying an additional 530,008 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,687,246 shares of the company's stock worth $85,831,000 after purchasing an additional 324,725 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 1,998.7% in the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,261,533 shares of the company's stock worth $31,933,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,775 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 41.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,153,008 shares of the company's stock worth $30,400,000 after purchasing an additional 632,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,047,955 shares of the company's stock worth $65,412,000 after purchasing an additional 26,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.
Vital Farms Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms' supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.
Further Reading
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