Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Makes New $2.79 Million Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 73,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 57.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,347,000 after buying an additional 34,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,066,000 after acquiring an additional 34,412 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 655,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 172,249 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,343,000 after purchasing an additional 74,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at $2,765,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Vital Farms stock opened at $33.82 on Monday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.91 and a 1-year high of $48.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.50 and a 200-day moving average of $35.07.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $162.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.43 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VITL. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Vital Farms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total transaction of $1,520,227.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 703,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,708,865.84. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total transaction of $125,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,966,890 shares in the company, valued at $218,690,677.10. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,124 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,308 over the last quarter. 27.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.