Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $45.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 58.17% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on VITL. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.91.

Vital Farms Stock Up 1.1%

VITL stock opened at $28.45 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.79. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $26.65 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 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 posted $0.16 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, 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 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.92, for a total transaction of $798,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,422,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,992,474.40. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 101,734 shares of company stock valued at $3,350,177 in the last quarter. Insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Vital Farms by 89.2% in the 1st 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. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 5.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 3.3% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Vital Farms by 1.4% during the first 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.