Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target Cut to $26.00 by Analysts at Telsey Advisory Group

Key Points

• Telsey Advisory Group cut its price target on Vital Farms to $26 from $35 but kept an "outperform" rating, a target that implies roughly a 100% upside from the recent share price.
• In the latest quarter Vital Farms missed EPS ($0.35 vs. $0.38) while revenue rose 28.6% year-over-year; the stock trades around $13, has a P/E of about 9.0 and a market cap near $583 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—nine Buys, three Holds and one Sell with an average price target of $42.82 ("Moderate Buy")—and insiders/institutions have been active, including a director buying shares and large institutional stake increases.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group from $35.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Friday. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 99.85% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark cut Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.82.

Vital Farms Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $13.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.75. Vital Farms has a 1 year low of $12.99 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $582.81 million, a PE ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 1.14.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $213.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.83 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 20.69%. Vital Farms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other news, Director Karl Khoury purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 119,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,210,107.05. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total transaction of $406,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,321,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $128,509,792.70. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 65,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,736,050 in the last three months. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 80.2% in 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 period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,534,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Vital Farms by 466.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,094,000 after acquiring an additional 641,394 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Vital Farms by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,234,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,534,000 after acquiring an additional 608,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP increased its stake in Vital Farms by 131.7% during the third quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 993,338 shares of the company's stock worth $40,876,000 after purchasing an additional 564,711 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.