StockNews.com Upgrades Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) to Buy

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

SFM has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 15.6 %

SFM stock opened at $143.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 38.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.11 and its 200 day moving average is $129.85.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,700,629.01. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,322,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,139,000 after purchasing an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.