Egg producer Vital Farms files for IPO

Vital Farms Inc. on Thursday filed for an initial public offering, hoping to capitalize on demand for for "ethically produced, natural, traceable, clean-label, great-tasting and nutritious" foods. The Austin, Texas, pasture-raised egg and butter producer applied to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol VITL. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. It seeks to sell $100 million worth of shares although that is often a placeholder used to calculate fees. Vital Farms said it had earned $1.9 million, or 13 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $3.1 million, or 21 cents a share, in the year-ago period. First-quarter sales rose to $48 million from $33 million a year ago, the company said in its prospectus.

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