Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Short Interest Update

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,440,000 shares, a drop of 24.0% from the November 30th total of 9,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 23.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VITL. DA Davidson upped their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $916,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,038,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $16,464,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 651.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,112,000 after purchasing an additional 428,382 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the third 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Vital Farms by 73.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,675,000 after buying an additional 331,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 73.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 679,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,766,000 after acquiring an additional 288,039 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.35. 694,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 817,511. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35 and a beta of 0.93. Vital Farms has a one year low of $14.16 and a one year high of $48.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.