Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $34.90, but opened at $33.74. Vital Farms shares last traded at $32.99, with a volume of 284,416 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on VITL shares. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.57.

Vital Farms Stock Down 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.31 and a 200-day moving average of $35.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $1,036,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,014,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,973,099.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 27.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 93.9% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,646,000 after buying an additional 257,492 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,798,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in Vital Farms by 106.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after buying an additional 364,837 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.