Needham & Company LLC Lowers Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target to $13.00

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC cut Vital Farms’ price target from $20 to $13, though it kept a buy rating on the stock.
• Vital Farms reported Q1 earnings of -$0.03 per share, missing estimates, even as revenue came in at $187.16 million and rose 15.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment has softened overall: the stock now has a consensus Hold rating, with multiple firms recently lowering targets or downgrading the shares.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $20.00 to $13.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price points to a potential upside of 45.41% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL opened at $8.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $8.40 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.49. The company has a market capitalization of $383.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 1.20.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.40 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Farms news, Director Karl Khoury acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 119,789 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,107.05. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total transaction of $406,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,321,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $128,509,792.70. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 4,382.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms' supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.

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