Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Down 2.8% - Here's Why

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $38.11 and last traded at $38.23. Approximately 204,684 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 815,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VITL shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Vital Farms Trading Down 4.1 %

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 50 day moving average price of $34.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 0.94.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business's revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were 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 owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Vital Farms by 13.8% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,327 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,562 shares of the company's stock worth $22,616,000 after acquiring an additional 5,736 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $487,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the second quarter valued at about $725,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Vital Farms during the second quarter worth about $753,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% 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.