Morgan Stanley Lowers Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target to $15.00

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $15.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.00% from the company’s previous close.

VITL has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark lowered Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $55.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.67.

Vital Farms Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $12.50 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Vital Farms has a 1-year low of $12.12 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $560 million, a P/E ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 1.35.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Vital Farms had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 8.73%.The company had revenue of $213.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Vital Farms will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Karl Khoury purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.45 per share, for a total transaction of $92,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 119,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,107.05. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $406,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,321,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,509,792.70. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Farms

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $28,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 4,382.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.