Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,276,616 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session's volume of 1,327,347 shares.The stock last traded at $79.10 and had previously closed at $78.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.25.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $67.28 and its 200 day moving average is $55.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider David Mcglinchey sold 12,219 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.01, for a total value of $904,328.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,768.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.14, for a total value of $2,298,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,495 shares in the company, valued at $3,817,839.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David Mcglinchey sold 12,219 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.01, for a total transaction of $904,328.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,850,768.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 210,567 shares of company stock worth $13,722,524 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $118,000. EMC Capital Management raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 19,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 194,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,528,000 after purchasing an additional 6,937 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $736,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period.

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.