Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Earnings Beat

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) saw strong trading volume on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 759,657 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 752,867 shares.The stock last traded at $31.66 and had previously closed at $36.87.

The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 22.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VITL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 9.2% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,650,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,613,000 after purchasing an additional 224,335 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,801,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,895,000 after buying an additional 152,743 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,859,000 after buying an additional 214,839 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 116.1% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 862,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,056,000 after acquiring an additional 463,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 73.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,675,000 after acquiring an additional 331,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.16 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.58.

Vital Farms Company Profile

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.