Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Lowers Stock Position in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 13.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,806 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Vital Farms were worth $8,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,207,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Vital Farms by 3.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,576,000 after purchasing an additional 11,972 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 63.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,609,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 460,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,037,000 after buying an additional 91,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VITL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Vital Farms from $59.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research cut Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Vital Farms from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.91.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL stock opened at $31.73 on Friday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.87 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.01.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 20.19% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company had revenue of $198.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $586,526.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 649,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,771,424.20. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total transaction of $176,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,386,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,113,197.50. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,401 shares of company stock valued at $3,008,045. 21.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.