What Happened?
Shares of egg and butter company Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) jumped 11% in the afternoon session after TD Cowen analysts defended the company against recent backlash and allegations of greenwashing regarding its feed practices.
The defense came after shoppers raised concerns and called for a boycott, alleging the company's use of corn and soy feed was misleading. A lab test had found high linoleic acid in the company's eggs as a result of the feed. In response to the backlash, TD Cowen analysts dismissed the criticisms as "highly unwarranted and misleading." The analysts noted that most nutritionists viewed linoleic acid as a positive component and emphasized its importance in daily diets. This strong defense appeared to reassure investors about the company's practices and the nutritional value of its products.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Vital Farms’s shares are very volatile and have had 25 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Vital Farms and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 14.2% on the news that the company reported strong third-quarter 2025 financial results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations and raised its full-year forecast. Vital Farms posted quarterly earnings of $0.36 per share, easily beating analysts' average estimate of $0.30 per share. This figure more than doubled the earnings of $0.16 per share from the same period in the previous year. Revenue for the quarter came in at $198.9 million, a 37.2% increase year-over-year, which also topped forecasts. Based on this strong performance, Vital Farms increased its financial outlook for the full year. The company now expects net revenue of around $775 million and adjusted EBITDA of around $115 million, signaling confidence in its continued growth.
Vital Farms is up 1.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $30.20 per share, it is still trading 42.4% below its 52-week high of $52.41 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Vital Farms’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,146.
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