Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.53, but opened at $30.60. Vital Farms shares last traded at $31.12, with a volume of 963,748 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VITL has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.64.

Vital Farms Stock Down 8.2%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.04. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $198.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.35 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 20.19% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 9,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.39, for a total value of $429,118.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 666,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,568,578.51. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $829,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,391,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $211,995,772.30. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 64,667 shares of company stock valued at $2,245,268 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VITL. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 36.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Farms during the 1st quarter worth $17,633,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 9.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 35,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 3,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 27.5% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 145,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after buying an additional 31,329 shares in 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.