Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.65 and last traded at $27.30, with a volume of 2861164 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $47.00 price target on Vital Farms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.91.

Vital Farms Trading Down 0.6%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $198.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.35 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total transaction of $771,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,361,190 shares in the company, valued at $196,242,711.50. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $586,526.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 649,684 shares in the company, valued at $22,771,424.20. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 101,734 shares of company stock valued at $3,350,177 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,362,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,218,000 after purchasing an additional 287,718 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,315,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,291,000 after purchasing an additional 39,361 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Vital Farms by 35.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,687,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,017,000 after buying an additional 444,402 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Vital Farms by 23.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,377,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,692,000 after buying an additional 258,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 97.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,234,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,534,000 after buying an additional 608,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.