Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,412,289 shares, a decline of 35.0% from the June 15th total of 11,401,769 shares. Currently, 18.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,197,113 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VITL. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Vital Farms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Craig Hallum cut shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Glenda J. Flanagan acquired 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.33 per share, for a total transaction of $50,813.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 37,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,358.34. The trade was a 19.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephanie Coon acquired 5,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.42 per share, with a total value of $49,635.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 62,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $524,683.88. This represents a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 38,700 shares of company stock worth $320,864. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 65,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 35,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Vital Farms stock opened at $13.55 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.80 and a 200-day moving average of $17.44. The company has a market capitalization of $580.59 million, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.07. Vital Farms 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.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted 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 return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.10%.The business had revenue of $187.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.