Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Trading 5.3% Higher - Time to Buy?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.69 and last traded at $33.91. 183,815 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,022,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.63.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.53 and a 200 day moving average of $35.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35 and a beta of 0.89. 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 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 company had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total value of $1,520,227.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 703,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,708,865.84. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total value of $125,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,966,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,690,677.10. This trade represents a 0.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 104,324 shares of company stock valued at $3,420,174. Insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 20,650.0% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.