Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Vital Farms has an average analyst rating of "Hold" from 15 covering analysts, with an average 1-year price target of about $24.08. The breakdown includes two sells, eight holds, and five buys.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results: revenue rose 15.4% year over year to $187.16 million, but earnings per share came in at ($0.03), below Wall Street expectations of $0.09.
• Insider buying has been notable, including purchases by an executive and a director, while institutional investors remain heavily involved and own 98.59% of the stock.

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.0833.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vital Farms from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Craig Hallum cut Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $20.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Vital Farms stock opened at $12.76 on Monday. Vital Farms has a 12-month low of $7.95 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $546.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.71.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $182.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Joseph Michael Holland bought 12,484 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $99,872.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 38,150 shares in the company, valued at $305,200. This trade represents a 48.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Glenda J. Flanagan purchased 6,100 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.33 per share, for a total transaction of $50,813.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 37,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $312,358.34. The trade was a 19.43% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 38,700 shares of company stock valued at $320,864 in the last 90 days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,845,714 shares of the company's stock worth $90,892,000 after acquiring an additional 530,008 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,687,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,831,000 after acquiring an additional 324,725 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 1,998.7% during the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,261,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,933,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,775 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 41.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,153,008 shares of the company's stock worth $30,400,000 after purchasing an additional 632,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,047,955 shares of the company's stock worth $65,412,000 after purchasing an additional 26,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

About Vital Farms

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.

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.