Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $169.80, but opened at $161.34. Sprouts Farmers Market shares last traded at $142.76, with a volume of 1,781,761 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 15.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.11 and a 200-day moving average of $129.85.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. Research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total value of $4,477,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,454,764.88. This represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during 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.