Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Director Purchases $21,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director buying: Vital Farms director Kelly Kennedy purchased 2,500 shares at $8.40 each for a total of $21,000, boosting his holdings by 12.24% to 22,927 shares. The trade was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Stock and earnings pressure: VITL fell 2.4% to $8.28 and recently reported a quarterly loss of $0.03 per share, missing analyst expectations. Revenue came in at $187.16 million, above estimates and up 15.4% year over year.
• Mixed Wall Street sentiment: Analysts have lowered price targets and ratings, leaving the stock with an overall Hold consensus. Despite that, institutional ownership remains high at 98.59%.

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) Director Kelly Kennedy bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.40 per share, for a total transaction of $21,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $192,586.80. This represents a 12.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Vital Farms Stock Down 2.4%

NASDAQ VITL traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.28. 4,192,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,728,813. 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 cap of $354.80 million, a PE ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $13.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.24. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.95 and a 52 week high of $53.13.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VITL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Vital Farms from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen lowered Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Benchmark lowered Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered Vital Farms from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 1,998.7% in the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,261,533 shares of the company's stock worth $31,933,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,775 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 80.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,074,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,921,000 after buying an additional 923,507 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,534,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 466.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,094,000 after buying an additional 641,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,153,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,400,000 after buying an additional 632,537 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

More Vital Farms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several insiders bought shares on May 14, including a large purchase by Joseph Michael Holland, along with buys from Peter Nicholas Pappas, CMO Kathryn McKeon, and Director Kelly J. Kennedy. Insider buying can signal confidence from management and directors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage coverage was reported as a consensus “Hold,” suggesting Wall Street is not currently strongly bullish or bearish on Vital Farms. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A broker note reportedly cut Vital Farms’ price target to $15.50, a sizable reduction that can pressure the stock by signaling weaker expectations for future upside. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued class-action and securities-fraud lawsuit notices tied to Vital Farms, with deadlines for lead-plaintiff participation. These repeated legal headlines may raise investor concerns about potential liability and uncertainty. Article Title

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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