Needham Investment Management LLC Purchases 30,000 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 447,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Vital Farms makes up about 1.2% of Needham Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Needham Investment Management LLC owned about 1.02% of Vital Farms worth $15,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,300,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Vital Farms by 29.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,859,000 after purchasing an additional 214,839 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 882.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 20,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 18,252 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,775,000 after purchasing an additional 364,837 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.20.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $938,160.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,531,574.43. This represents a 7.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vital Farms Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VITL traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $32.96. 129,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 812,958. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.74 and a 12 month high of $48.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.68. 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 company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13 and a beta of 0.94.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.