HighTower Advisors LLC Has $412,000 Stock Position in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors cut its Vital Farms stake by 97.2% in the second quarter, selling 1.23 million shares and retaining 35,384 shares worth approximately $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.59% of VITL.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with five Buy, eight Hold and one Sell rating. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $17.18.
• Vital Farms reported quarterly revenue of $166.03 million, exceeding estimates, but revenue declined 10.2% year over year and the company posted a loss of $0.47 per share. The stock opened at $11.70 and has traded between $7.95 and $46.31 over the past year.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 97.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,384 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,233,331 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Vital Farms worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter worth about $60,153,000. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised 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 valued at $31,933,000 after buying an additional 2,153,775 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 41.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,153,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,400,000 after buying an additional 632,537 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 46.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,405,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,836,000 after buying an additional 447,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,975,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.18.

Vital Farms Trading Up 16.7%

VITL stock opened at $11.70 on Friday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.95 and a 52 week high of $46.31. The company has a market capitalization of $502.30 million, a PE ratio of -292.50 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $11.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.17. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.47). Vital Farms had a net margin of 0.02% and a return on equity of 3.46%. The firm had revenue of $166.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The business's revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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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