Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. ($VITL) by 45.3%, now holding approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $1.8 million.
• Insider trading activity saw significant sales, with SVP Stephanie Coon and another insider, Matthew Ohayer, collectively selling over 155,000 shares valued at approximately $8 million in recent transactions.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Vital Farms, with BMO Capital Markets increasing it from $50 to $60, reflecting a broader consensus rating of "Buy."

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,753 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,473 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Vital Farms worth $1,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,861 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 43.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VITL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 145,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.98, for a total value of $7,537,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,582,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $342,135,998.60. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 4,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $244,356.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,207,765.40. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 434,401 shares of company stock worth $21,687,330. Insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 3.8%

VITL traded down $1.76 on Friday, hitting $44.41. 1,480,129 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,671. The stock's fifty day moving average is $44.45 and its 200-day moving average is $37.43. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.91 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.48. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 39.65 and a beta of 0.94.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $184.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.28 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 18.40%. Vital Farms's quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vital Farms 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.