GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 356,292 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 18,234.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 358,246 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 356,292 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.37% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $54,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock worth $567,322,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock worth $234,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after purchasing an additional 294,553 shares during the period. 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 worth $172,199,000 after purchasing an additional 160,882 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SFM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $3,395,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,325,562.50. The trade was a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.08, for a total value of $481,208.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,289,703.80. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,547 shares of company stock valued at $21,583,280 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $4.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $171.14. 1,264,650 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,664. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $162.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.06. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $74.15 and a one year high of $182.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 45.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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.