Trexquant Investment LP Reduces Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 272,782 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,727 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.62% of Vital Farms worth $10,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 160.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total transaction of $125,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,966,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,690,677.10. The trade was a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ VITL traded down $0.11 on Monday, reaching $32.12. 446,106 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,022,788. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.12 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.68.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VITL. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.00.

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.