Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL Shares Bought by Needham Investment Management LLC

Needham Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 685,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,500 shares during the quarter. Vital Farms makes up about 1.4% of Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Needham Investment Management LLC owned 1.53% of Vital Farms worth $21,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VITL. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 350.3% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 201,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,427,000 after purchasing an additional 156,547 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 44,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 11,420 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its position in Vital Farms by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 39,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after buying an additional 8,543 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 79,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after buying an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Nicholas Pappas acquired 3,500 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.51 per share, for a total transaction of $29,785.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,788.19. This trade represents a 4.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph Michael Holland acquired 12,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $99,872.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 38,150 shares in the company, valued at $305,200. This represents a 48.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 38,700 shares of company stock worth $320,864 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VITL has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Craig Hallum cut shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded shares of Vital Farms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Benchmark lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Vital Farms stock opened at $10.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.82. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.95 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $454.64 million, a PE ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.10.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.