Expect Equity LLC Makes New Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Expect Equity LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 113,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,000. Expect Equity LLC owned about 0.26% of Vital Farms at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the second quarter worth approximately $60,153,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,845,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,892,000 after buying an additional 530,008 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,687,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,831,000 after acquiring an additional 324,725 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 1,998.7% in the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,261,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,933,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,153,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,400,000 after acquiring an additional 632,537 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Vital Farms from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut Vital Farms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.18.

Vital Farms Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ VITL opened at $11.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $476.95 million, a P/E ratio of -277.75 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.08. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.95 and a 12 month high of $53.13.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.47). Vital Farms had a net margin of 0.02% and a return on equity of 3.46%. The business had revenue of $166.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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.