Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Director Joe Fortunato Sells 5,000 Shares

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.48, for a total value of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,966 shares in the company, valued at $4,156,771.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Joe Fortunato also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 4th, Joe Fortunato sold 13,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total value of $828,230.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $80.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,836,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,344,765. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.50. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.12 and a 1-year high of $80.96. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $67.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000.

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.

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