Engineers Gate Manager LP Sells 115,833 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Vital Farms stake by 59.3% in the second quarter, selling 115,833 shares and retaining 79,564 shares worth approximately $925,000. Institutional investors collectively own 98.59% of VITL.
• Vital Farms reported a quarterly loss of $0.47 per share, in line with estimates, while revenue of $166.03 million exceeded expectations but declined 10.2% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock carrying an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $17.18; VITL recently traded at $11.99.

Engineers Gate Manager LP reduced its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,564 shares of the company's stock after selling 115,833 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned 0.19% of Vital Farms worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VITL. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the second quarter worth $511,000. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 721.0% in the second quarter. Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 232,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,704,000 after acquiring an additional 204,162 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at about $1,752,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 8.0% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 27,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ VITL opened at $11.99 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $11.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.17. The stock has a market cap of $514.73 million, a PE ratio of -299.75 and a beta of 1.05. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.95 and a fifty-two week high of $46.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.47) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.47). Vital Farms had a return on equity of 3.46% and a net margin of 0.02%.The company had revenue of $166.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. Vital Farms's revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VITL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Vital Farms from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vital Farms from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.18.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, Inc is a food company focused on ethically produced pasture-raised eggs and other products. The company's offerings include pasture-raised eggs, butter, ghee and hard-boiled eggs, which are sold under the Vital Farms brand through grocery retailers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 2007, Vital Farms works with a network of family farms and emphasizes animal welfare, pasture access and supply-chain transparency. Its products are marketed primarily in the United States and are available through retail and foodservice channels.

The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

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