Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $64.29, but opened at $71.40. Sprouts Farmers Market shares last traded at $71.93, with a volume of 617,164 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 27.36%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,513.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,513.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.87.

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.