Driehaus Capital Management LLC Sells 567,699 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 60.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 369,113 shares of the company's stock after selling 567,699 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 0.84% of Vital Farms worth $13,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,487 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,117 shares of the company's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Price Performance

NASDAQ:VITL traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $34.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 245,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,024,329. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.91 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.66 and a 200-day moving average of $35.04. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The company had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.63.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total transaction of $1,520,227.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 703,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,708,865.84. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.46, for a total transaction of $589,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,970,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $205,362,419.40. This represents a 0.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,124 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,308 in the last ninety days. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.