Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Bought by Needham Investment Management LLC

Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 455,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. Vital Farms comprises about 1.3% of Needham Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Needham Investment Management LLC owned 1.04% of Vital Farms worth $17,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 152.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total value of $1,520,227.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 703,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,708,865.84. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.68, for a total value of $784,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,942,890 shares in the company, valued at $226,893,645.20. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,124 shares of company stock worth $3,019,308. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VITL. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 5th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $44.63.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of VITL stock traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.80. 917,217 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,027,523. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.03. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.91 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $162.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

About Vital Farms

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.