Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Vita Coco from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Evercore boosted their price target on Vita Coco from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vita Coco in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Vita Coco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vita Coco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.71.

Vita Coco Stock Performance

Shares of COCO stock opened at $67.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.73. Vita Coco has a 52 week low of $31.79 and a 52 week high of $85.83.

Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $216.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.64 million. Vita Coco had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 31.09%. Vita Coco’s quarterly revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vita Coco will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vita Coco news, COO Jonathan Burth sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $2,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,343,250. This trade represents a 34.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Ira Liran sold 73,842 shares of Vita Coco stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.32, for a total value of $5,930,989.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 402,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,335,145.28. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 416,406 shares of company stock valued at $32,692,409. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COCO. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Vita Coco by 80.3% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,675,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,437 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vita Coco by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,149,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,959,000 after buying an additional 237,510 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Vita Coco by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,432,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,940,000 after buying an additional 439,958 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vita Coco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,242,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vita Coco by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,282,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,460,000 after acquiring an additional 737,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

About Vita Coco

Vita Coco, Inc (NASDAQ: COCO) is a global beverage company specializing in coconut-based products. Founded in 2004 by Michael Kirban and Ira Liran, the company pioneered the introduction of refrigerated coconut water to U.S. consumers. Headquartered in New York City, Vita Coco sources coconuts from growers in tropical regions such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil, partnering with local farmers to promote sustainable agriculture and community development.

The company’s flagship offering, Vita Coco Original Coconut Water, is available in multiple pack sizes and a variety of flavors.