Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock Price Down 9.1% - Here's What Happened

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) shares fell 9.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $36.31 and last traded at $35.90. 441,428 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 970,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VITL. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $44.67.

Vital Farms Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.23. 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 (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 8.26%. The firm had revenue of $162.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 6,858,890 shares in the company, valued at $268,662,721.30. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was 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 owned 56,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,607.39. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,400 shares of company stock worth $2,211,930 in the last 90 days. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 59,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,235,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 9.3% during the 4th 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 period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at $558,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,307,000 after buying an additional 87,980 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

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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