Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock Rating Upgraded by DA Davidson

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) was upgraded by research analysts at DA Davidson to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.08.

Vital Farms Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $13.25. 334,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,691,697. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.77. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $7.95 and a 52-week high of $53.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.57. The company has a market capitalization of $567.76 million, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.07.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.10%.The company had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Vital Farms’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stephanie Coon purchased 5,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,635.90. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 62,314 shares in the company, valued at $524,683.88. This trade represents a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Michael Holland acquired 12,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $99,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,200. This represents a 48.64% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 38,700 shares of company stock valued at $320,864 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 89.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 9,136 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position 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 valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,658,000 after buying an additional 13,397 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the first quarter valued at about $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 worth $2,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.