Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock Rating Lowered by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Vital Farms has been downgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in investor sentiment.
• Other analysts remain optimistic, with several raising their price targets and maintaining "buy" or "outperform" ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider trading activity shows significant sales, with a notable insider selling 145,000 shares at an average price of $51.98, reflecting potential confidence concerns in the stock.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 price objective on Vital Farms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.80.

Vital Farms Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ VITL traded up $0.78 on Wednesday, hitting $44.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,003,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,935. The business's fifty day moving average price is $45.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.10. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $27.91 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 145,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.98, for a total transaction of $7,537,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,582,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $342,135,998.60. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 4,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $244,356.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 43,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,207,765.40. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 404,401 shares of company stock worth $20,512,230 in the last ninety days. 21.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 1,453.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,243,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,888,000 after buying an additional 1,163,399 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 80.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,074,803 shares of the company's stock worth $79,921,000 after purchasing an additional 923,507 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,234,008 shares of the company's stock worth $47,534,000 after purchasing an additional 608,723 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,633,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 17.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,863,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,262,000 after purchasing an additional 432,848 shares during the last quarter. 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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