Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $26.65 and last traded at $27.30, with a volume of 2861164 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VITL. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Vital Farms from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.91.

Vital Farms Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.29. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 20.19% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company had revenue of $198.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.92, for a total value of $798,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,422,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,992,474.40. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $586,526.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 649,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,771,424.20. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 101,734 shares of company stock worth $3,350,177 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 89.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 9,136 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 5.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 3.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,658,000 after purchasing an additional 13,397 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the first quarter worth approximately $1,073,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 1.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 89,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,739,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.