Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) Downgraded to Equal Weight Rating by Stephens

Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential downside of 6.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on COCO. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Vita Coco from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vita Coco from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Vita Coco from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.86.

Vita Coco Stock Performance

Shares of Vita Coco stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 105,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,904. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.74. Vita Coco has a 12-month low of $19.41 and a 12-month high of $38.91. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.31.

Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.06. Vita Coco had a return on equity of 26.49% and a net margin of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $133.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Vita Coco’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vita Coco will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Martin F. Roper sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.35, for a total transaction of $176,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 447,452 shares in the company, valued at $15,817,428.20. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jonathan Burth sold 14,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total value of $557,981.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 105,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,964,733.37. This trade represents a 12.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,276 shares of company stock worth $5,395,796. 34.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vita Coco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COCO. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Vita Coco by 299.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,400,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,972,000 after buying an additional 1,799,168 shares during the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vita Coco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,224,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vita Coco by 106.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 895,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,358,000 after purchasing an additional 461,748 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vita Coco in the second quarter valued at $9,859,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vita Coco by 143.0% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 341,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,668,000 after acquiring an additional 200,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

About Vita Coco

The Vita Coco Company, Inc develops, markets, and distributes coconut water products under the Vita Coco brand name in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers coconut oil and coconut milk; juice; Runa, a plant-based energy drink; packaged water under the Ever & Ever brand name; and PWR LIFT, a protein-infused fitness drink.