Atika Capital Management LLC Takes $714,000 Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Atika Capital Management LLC acquired 4,675 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, valued at approximately $714,000, as disclosed in their recent 13F filing.
• Notable insider selling occurred, including Director Joe Fortunato's sale of 10,000 shares for about $1.48 million, indicating a significant reduction in ownership.
• Sprouts Farmers Market reported a quarterly EPS of $1.35, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $2.22 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 17.3%.

Atika Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 244 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $2.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $146.28. 1,731,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,736,605. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.05 and a twelve month high of $182.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 19th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 2,937 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $440,755.59. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,250,149.58. The trade was a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total value of $328,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,180,171.94. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,589 shares of company stock valued at $8,926,483 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.