Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.8182.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VITL. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Vital Farms from $35.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Vital Farms from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karl Khoury purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $92,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 119,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,107.05. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total transaction of $406,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,321,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,509,792.70. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 65,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,736,050 over the last quarter. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 80.2% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,074,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,921,000 after acquiring an additional 923,507 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at $25,534,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 466.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,094,000 after purchasing an additional 641,394 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,234,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,534,000 after purchasing an additional 608,723 shares during the period. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 131.7% in the 3rd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 993,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,876,000 after purchasing an additional 564,711 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Vital Farms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Two sell‑side firms cut price targets but kept bullish ratings (Needham lowered its target to $20 with a “buy”; Telsey cut its target to $26 with an “outperform”), signaling continued analyst conviction that there is upside from current levels. Benzinga note on price target changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Balance‑sheet and valuation context: VITL trades at a low P/E (~9x) with minimal debt (debt/equity ~0.01), which can support recovery if operational trends improve. (Background market data)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class‑action filings and investor notices were announced this week (Rosen Law Firm, Robbins LLP and related alerts), alleging Vital Farms made materially misleading statements and seeking damages for purchases from May 8, 2025 through Feb 26, 2026; Rosen’s notice sets a lead‑plaintiff motion deadline of May 26, 2026 — a clear near‑term legal overhang. Rosen Law Firm filing Business Wire Rosen alert Robbins LLP notice
• Negative Sentiment: Recent price action shows notable weakness (a larger drop was reported on 3/26), underscoring market sensitivity to the legal headlines and recent operating/earnings signals. Zacks price‑action note

Vital Farms Trading Up 1.0%

VITL stock opened at $13.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $588.67 million, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.16. Vital Farms has a one year low of $12.80 and a one year high of $53.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.51.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $213.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.83 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 20.69%. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.