Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Vital Farms shares gapped down from $41.15 to $39.43 before trading at $40.06, amidst a trading volume of 139,749 shares.
• Several analysts have recently raised their target prices for VITL, with an average target of $49.80 and a consensus rating of "Buy."
• The company reported 25.4% revenue growth year-over-year and exceeded earnings estimates with an EPS of $0.36 for the last quarter.

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $41.15, but opened at $39.43. Vital Farms shares last traded at $40.06, with a volume of 139,749 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VITL shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $49.80.

Vital Farms Trading Down 3.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $45.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34 and a beta of 0.94.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $184.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.28 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 18.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,607.39. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 145,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.98, for a total transaction of $7,537,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,582,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $342,135,998.60. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 404,401 shares of company stock valued at $20,512,230 in the last quarter. 21.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 20,650.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter valued at $141,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Company Profile

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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