Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Short Interest Up 236.7% in July

Key Points

• Short interest for Vital Farms increased by 236.7% in July, reaching a total of 7,610,000 shares, indicating a significant shift in investor sentiment.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.37, which exceeded expectations, though revenue fell slightly short of analyst forecasts at $162.19 million.
• Analyst ratings for Vital Farms are predominantly positive, with an average target price of $44.00 and most analysts rating the stock as "Buy" or "Outperform."

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,610,000 shares, anincreaseof236.7% from the June 30th total of 2,260,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 783,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.7 days. Currently,22.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently,22.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 783,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.7 days.

Vital Farms Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $35.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 3.35. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $27.91 and a 52-week high of $45.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 0.94.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm had revenue of $162.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VITL. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $44.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.97, for a total transaction of $46,764.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 56,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,189,607.39. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total transaction of $201,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,872,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $277,219,303.80. This trade represents a 0.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,630. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 20,650.0% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 1st quarter valued at $112,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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