Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $33.88, but opened at $36.14. Vital Farms shares last traded at $31.88, with a volume of 646,185 shares.

The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on VITL. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $1,036,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,014,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,973,099.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957 in the last quarter. 27.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 4.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 7,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Trading Down 9.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.64.

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.