Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $34.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 1.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VITL. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $43.14 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $14.37 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total value of $517,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,944,222.24. This represents a 21.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,202 shares of company stock valued at $7,855,957 in the last 90 days. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VITL. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,296,000 after buying an additional 31,187 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 364,837 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vital Farms by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 655,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 172,249 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,646,000 after purchasing an additional 257,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 651.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,112,000 after purchasing an additional 428,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

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.