Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 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 trading hands.

The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.07. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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 restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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 shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,202 shares of company stock valued at $7,855,957 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Vital Farms by 27.0% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its position in Vital Farms by 93.9% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,646,000 after acquiring an additional 257,492 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,798,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in Vital Farms by 106.8% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 364,837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11 and a beta of 0.90.

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.