Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Research Coverage Started at Benchmark

Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on VITL. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 price target on Vital Farms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.70.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL opened at $32.18 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38 and a beta of 0.86. Vital Farms has a 12-month low of $28.00 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The firm had revenue of $198.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. Vital Farms’s quarterly revenue was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 4,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $244,356.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,207,765.40. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.32, for a total value of $790,244.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 685,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,450,920.32. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 411,163 shares of company stock valued at $20,448,016 over the last quarter. Insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 16.5% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 56,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after buying an additional 8,008 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 248.4% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 37,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 26,708 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its stake in Vital Farms by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 49,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 13,202 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,665,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Vital Farms by 206.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 25,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 17,387 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.