Trexquant Investment LP Cuts Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Trexquant Investment LP reduced its holdings in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,727 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.62% of Vital Farms worth $10,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $31.66 on Thursday. 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 50 day moving average price is $34.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.65. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.68 and a 52-week high of $48.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27 and a beta of 0.95.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total value of $125,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,966,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,690,677.10. This trade represents a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. The trade was a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 145,474 shares of company stock worth $5,969,700. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vital Farms 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.