Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 0.94% from the company's current price.

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

Vital Farms Stock Performance

VITL stock opened at $29.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.18 and a 200-day moving average of $35.62. Vital Farms has a 12-month low of $23.04 and a 12-month high of $48.41.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.46, for a total transaction of $589,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,970,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $205,362,419.40. The trade was a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700. 27.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,765,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 38.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,343,000 after purchasing an additional 74,593 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 6.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company's stock worth $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 14,426 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $699,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,066,000 after purchasing an additional 34,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

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.