Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,412,289 shares, a decrease of 35.0% from the June 15th total of 11,401,769 shares. Currently, 18.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,197,113 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Farms news, insider Stephanie Coon bought 5,895 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.42 per share, with a total value of $49,635.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,683.88. This represents a 10.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Peter Nicholas Pappas bought 3,500 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 $724,788.19. This represents a 4.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 38,700 shares of company stock valued at $320,864. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,845,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,892,000 after acquiring an additional 530,008 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Vital Farms by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,687,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,831,000 after purchasing an additional 324,725 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 1,998.7% in the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,261,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,933,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,775 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Vital Farms by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,153,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,400,000 after purchasing an additional 632,537 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Vital Farms by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,047,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,412,000 after purchasing an additional 26,150 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VITL. 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.08.

Vital Farms Stock Up 2.8%

Vital Farms stock opened at $13.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $580.62 million, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.07. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $7.95 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.10%.The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post -0.46 EPS 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.