Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Now Covered by Analysts at Benchmark

Equities research analysts at Benchmark started coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s target price suggests a potential upside of 81.60% from the stock’s current price.

VITL has been the topic of several other reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.70.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VITL traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $33.04. The stock had a trading volume of 349,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,349. Vital Farms has a twelve month low of $28.00 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.32.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 20.19% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm had revenue of $198.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total transaction of $188,900.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,417,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,436,904.60. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 9,667 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.39, for a total value of $429,118.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 666,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,568,578.51. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 411,163 shares of company stock valued at $20,448,016 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 20,650.0% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.