Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Vital Farms Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of VITL opened at $31.00 on Monday. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $22.92 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total transaction of $1,885,086.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares in the company, valued at $28,224,852.48. This represents a 6.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Vital Farms by 417.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,625,000 after buying an additional 1,961,550 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,307,000 after purchasing an additional 87,980 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,172,000 after purchasing an additional 516,139 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,058,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,904,000 after purchasing an additional 415,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 955,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,028,000 after purchasing an additional 89,772 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.