Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 216,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,901,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,845,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,892,000 after purchasing an additional 530,008 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased 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 acquiring an additional 287,718 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,520,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,564,000 after acquiring an additional 142,790 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,173,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,474,000 after acquiring an additional 519,369 shares during the period. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 131.7% during the third quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 993,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,876,000 after acquiring an additional 564,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VITL. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen downgraded Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vital Farms from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Craig Hallum cut Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL opened at $10.07 on Tuesday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.95 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $431.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.33.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other news, Director Karl Khoury bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 119,789 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,107.05. This represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephanie Coon bought 5,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,635.90. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 62,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $524,683.88. The trade was a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 43,700 shares of company stock worth $413,114. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

About Vital Farms

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.