Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Trading Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s stock price dropped 5.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.04 and last traded at $12.0510. 286,889 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,522,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VITL. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vital Farms from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.08.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $521.70 million, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.97.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. Vital Farms’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephanie Coon purchased 5,895 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,635.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,683.88. This trade represents a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Glenda J. Flanagan purchased 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.33 per share, for a total transaction of $50,813.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 37,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,358.34. This trade represents a 19.43% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 38,700 shares of company stock valued at $320,864 in the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Vital Farms by 89.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 9,136 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,658,000 after buying an additional 13,397 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 1st quarter valued at $1,073,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 89,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.