Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock Price Down 3.8% Following Insider Selling

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) was down 3.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $141.43 and last traded at $142.26. Approximately 588,023 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,727,472 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.83.

Specifically, Director Joe Fortunato sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total value of $1,475,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,461.48. This represents a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SFM. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.62.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,314,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,086,000 after purchasing an additional 252,699 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,481,000 after acquiring an additional 15,930 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 52.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,131,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,948,000 after acquiring an additional 737,008 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,199,000 after acquiring an additional 160,882 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.