Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Takes Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. has acquired 364,983 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, valued at approximately $55.7 million, representing about 0.37% of the company as of the latest filing.
• Other hedge funds, including Assenagon Asset Management and Wellington Management, have significantly increased their stakes in Sprouts Farmers Market, with Assenagon raising its position by an impressive 1,033.4%.
• Analyst ratings for Sprouts Farmers Market have been largely positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of approximately $173.73.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 364,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,711,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.37% of Sprouts Farmers Market at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,341,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $301,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 971,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,271,000 after purchasing an additional 28,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 253,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,664,000 after purchasing an additional 93,700 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 651 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total value of $92,168.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,590,651.30. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total value of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,180,171.94. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,737 shares of company stock worth $5,954,023. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.83. 1,358,086 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,515,252. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.61 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $153.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.95.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%.The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.