Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock Price Up 13.2% on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Vital Farms' stock price surged 13.2% to $42.24 after the company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.09.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Vital Farms, with Wellington Management Group growing its stake by 417.8% in the last quarter.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on Vital Farms, with an average target price of $44.00 and most ratings being "Buy" or "Outperform."

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 13.2% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $42.73 and last traded at $42.24. 1,039,634 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 966,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.30.

The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $184.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VITL shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.20.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Farms news, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,607.39. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.17, for a total transaction of $1,175,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,858,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $268,662,721.30. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,630. Insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted 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 lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 36.2% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 43.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 18.9% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,487 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.21 and a beta of 0.94.

About Vital Farms

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.