Emerald Advisers LLC Purchases 364,837 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 106.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 706,440 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 364,837 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 1.64% of Vital Farms worth $24,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 116.1% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 862,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,056,000 after purchasing an additional 463,471 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 651.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,112,000 after buying an additional 428,382 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Vital Farms by 73.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,675,000 after buying an additional 331,000 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 73.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 679,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,766,000 after buying an additional 288,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,824,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.56. 598,734 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,144,461. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.28. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.18 and a twelve month high of $48.41. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.97.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.16. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 22.77%. The firm had revenue of $147.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VITL shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.20.

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.