Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $190.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $163.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 37.87% from the stock’s current price.

SFM has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $137.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $60.46 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.17. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,690 shares of company stock valued at $1,869,825 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 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.