Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 55.28% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on VITL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.75.

Vital Farms Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $32.20 on Wednesday. Vital Farms has a 12-month low of $28.87 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.04.

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

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 9,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.39, for a total transaction of $429,118.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 666,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,568,578.51. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $829,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,391,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,995,772.30. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,667 shares of company stock valued at $2,245,268. Company insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 13.1% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 64,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after buying an additional 7,475 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at approximately $967,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in Vital Farms by 5.7% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.