Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Melius Research

Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 2.52% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.80.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $2.01 on Monday, reaching $107.71. 439,122 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,354,616. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.56. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $39.76 and a 1-year high of $108.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.26 and a 200-day moving average of $80.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 27.53% and a net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.38, for a total value of $476,433.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 245,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,452,113.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.38, for a total value of $476,433.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 245,288 shares in the company, valued at $20,452,113.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joel D. Anderson sold 20,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.16, for a total value of $2,005,032.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,808,673.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 123,221 shares of company stock valued at $12,130,609 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $1,378,000. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth $349,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 616,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,748,000 after purchasing an additional 48,225 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 411.4% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,538,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after buying an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.