Emerald Advisers LLC Boosts Stock Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 106.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 706,440 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 364,837 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC owned about 1.64% of Vital Farms worth $24,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $1,798,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 93.9% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company's stock worth $18,646,000 after acquiring an additional 257,492 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 27.0% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,301 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares during the period. CWC Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $240,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at $21,531,574.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.56. The stock had a trading volume of 598,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,461. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.03. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.18 and a 52 week high of $48.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.36.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.16. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.77% and a net margin of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $147.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VITL. TD Cowen upgraded Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.20.

About Vital Farms

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.