42,000 Shares in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 42,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,473,000. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.10% of Vital Farms at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Vital Farms by 651.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,112,000 after purchasing an additional 428,382 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 364,837 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 73.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,675,000 after purchasing an additional 331,000 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 73.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 679,504 shares of the company's stock worth $31,766,000 after buying an additional 288,039 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at about $12,824,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of VITL traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.53. 345,470 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,823. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.38 and a 52 week high of $48.41. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.80.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VITL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This represents a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

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.