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Short Interest in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Rises By 236.7%

Vital Farms logo with Consumer Staples background

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."
  • Want stock alerts on Vital Farms? Get 5 Weeks of MarketBeat All Access for $5. Get My Stock Alerts.

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,610,000 shares, agrowthof236.7% from the June 30th total of 2,260,000 shares. Approximately22.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 783,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 783,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.7 days. Approximately22.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VITL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.89.

View Our Latest Research Report on VITL

Vital Farms Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL traded up $1.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,161,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 986,405. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.95. Vital Farms has a 1 year low of $27.91 and a 1 year high of $46.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $184.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.28 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 30,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.17, for a total value of $1,175,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,858,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,662,721.30. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.97, for a total value of $46,764.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,607.39. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,630 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 80,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,018,000 after buying an additional 6,803 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company's stock worth $84,307,000 after purchasing an additional 87,980 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 761,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,703,000 after buying an additional 11,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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