Vital Farms social media criticisms ‘unwarranted and misleading’, says TD Cowen

TD Cowen keeps a Buy rating and $44 price target on Vital Farms (VITL), noting that while the stock pulled back 6% in response to a wave of negative social media commentary on Instagram about the company’s nutritional value, the firm sees these criticisms as “highly unwarranted and misleading”. Most nutritionists view linoleic content – i.e. Omega-6 – as a positive, not a negative, because they provide important nutrients in a daily diet , and just like every other pasture-raised egg company, the brand has always been transparent about feeding their hens a diet of corn and soybean meal as a course of business, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The negative videos on Instagram may not influence the brand’s reputation longer term, though the firm can still see grounds for concern that they may augment the near-term challenges that the management has recently highlighted in its meeting with the firm, TD Cowen added.