J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• J Sainsbury shares crossed above their 200-day moving average (GBX 330.27) on Thursday, trading as high as GBX 335 and last at GBX 330.40 on a volume of 16.2 million shares.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets but remain largely positive—three analysts rate SBRY a Buy and one a Hold, leaving a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a consensus price target of GBX 330.
• Insider activity was mixed (Simon Roberts sold 30,340 shares at GBX 308 while Katie Bickerstaffe bought 5,534 at GBX 309), and the company shows high leverage and low liquidity (debt-to-equity 102.27, current ratio 0.62).

J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY - Get Free Report) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 330.27 and traded as high as GBX 335. J Sainsbury shares last traded at GBX 330.40, with a volume of 16,212,803 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SBRY. Citigroup cut their target price on J Sainsbury from GBX 366 to GBX 360 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on J Sainsbury from GBX 350 to GBX 345 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a GBX 310 price objective on shares of J Sainsbury in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 330.

J Sainsbury Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 102.27, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of £7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 336.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 330.27.

Insider Activity at J Sainsbury

In related news, insider Simon Roberts sold 30,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 308, for a total transaction of £93,447.20. Also, insider Katie Bickerstaffe acquired 5,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 309 per share, with a total value of £17,100.06. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J Sainsbury Company Profile

J Sainsbury plc is one of the UK's leading food, general merchandise and clothing retailers. Offering delicious, great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since we opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority. Our purpose is that driven by our passion for food, together we serve and help every customer. Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Habitat, Tu, Nectar and Sainsbury's Bank.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.