Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Vita Coco Company, Inc. $COCO

Key Points

• Virtu Financial disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Vita Coco, buying 12,108 shares valued at about $642,000. Several other institutional investors also boosted or initiated positions, and institutions now own 88.49% of the stock.
• Analysts remain constructive on COCO, with recent target increases including Wells Fargo’s move to $85 and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The average price target currently stands at $70.43.
• Vita Coco reported strong quarterly results, earning $0.50 EPS versus the $0.34 expected and revenue of $179.77 million, up 37.4% year over year. Despite the solid performance, insider selling was notable, including Director Ira Liran’s sale of 96,158 shares.

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COCO. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Vita Coco in the third quarter valued at $45,135,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vita Coco by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,149,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,959,000 after acquiring an additional 237,510 shares during the period. Night Squared LP bought a new position in shares of Vita Coco during the third quarter valued at $5,193,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vita Coco by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 136,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pier Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vita Coco in the 4th quarter valued at $7,318,000. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COCO. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vita Coco in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vita Coco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Vita Coco from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vita Coco in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vita Coco in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.43.

Insider Activity at Vita Coco

In other news, Director Ira Liran sold 96,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.14, for a total transaction of $7,609,944.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 476,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,703,957.94. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martin Roper sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,924,200. This represents a 7.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 707,306 shares of company stock valued at $49,251,613. Insiders own 34.20% of the company's stock.

Vita Coco Stock Performance

Shares of COCO stock opened at $82.88 on Tuesday. Vita Coco Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.79 and a 52 week high of $85.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 60.50, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's fifty day moving average is $69.11 and its 200-day moving average is $59.26.

Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Vita Coco had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 12.59%.The business had revenue of $179.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $148.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vita Coco Company, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vita Coco Company Profile

Vita Coco, Inc NASDAQ: COCO is a global beverage company specializing in coconut-based products. Founded in 2004 by Michael Kirban and Ira Liran, the company pioneered the introduction of refrigerated coconut water to U.S. consumers. Headquartered in New York City, Vita Coco sources coconuts from growers in tropical regions such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil, partnering with local farmers to promote sustainable agriculture and community development.

The company's flagship offering, Vita Coco Original Coconut Water, is available in multiple pack sizes and a variety of flavors.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.