Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM Shares Acquired by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC DE has increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 50.9%, now owning 76,573 shares valued at approximately $11.7 million.
• Analysts have shown increased confidence in Sprouts Farmers Market, with several firms raising their price targets, including UBS setting it at $180.00 and Jefferies increasing it to $190.00.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.35 EPS for the last quarter, outpacing estimates and showing a 17.3% year-over-year revenue growth.

Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 50.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,573 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,834 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.08% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $11,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $35,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12,100.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 244 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.73.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.9%

SFM stock opened at $138.83 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.61 and a 200-day moving average of $155.86. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.61 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The company has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 19th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.45, for a total transaction of $650,464.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,037,033. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 651 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total transaction of $92,168.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,590,651.30. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,737 shares of company stock worth $5,954,023. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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