Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 321,242 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 615,006 shares.The stock last traded at $42.10 and had previously closed at $40.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VITL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

Vital Farms Stock Up 6.8 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.25 and a beta of 0.88.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $916,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,038,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,728 shares of company stock worth $3,539,176 over the last three months. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 180.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at $97,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 130.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at $168,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by 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.