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

Key Points

• Vital Farms currently has an average analyst rating of "Hold" from 15 brokerages, with a mixed split of one sell, nine holds, and five buys. The average 12-month price target among updated estimates is about $27.33.
• Recent analyst moves have been mostly cautious, including several target-price cuts and downgrades, such as Needham lowering its target to $13 and Craig Hallum cutting the stock to hold with a $10 target. DA Davidson also slashed its target to $16 while keeping a neutral stance.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS expectations but topping revenue estimates, while shares have also been weighed down by insider trading activity and ongoing securities class-action headlines.

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.3333.

VITL has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho set a $20.00 target price on Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 4th. Craig Hallum lowered Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Benchmark lowered Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karl Khoury purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $128,509,792.70. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 21.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 0.4%

VITL stock opened at $8.48 on Friday. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $7.95 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.32. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $363.37 million, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 1.20.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $187.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.10%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Vital Farms

Here are the key news stories impacting Vital Farms this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms issued reminders about the upcoming May 26 lead-plaintiff deadline in the Vital Farms securities class action, keeping legal risk in focus for shareholders.
• Negative Sentiment: The repeated class-action notices may pressure Vital Farms shares by highlighting alleged securities-law violations and extending uncertainty around the company’s outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor attention remains on the company’s recent earnings miss, which likely compounds the negative reaction to the litigation headlines.

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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