Nicholas Investment Partners LP Invests $6.44 Million in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 50,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,437,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.05% of Sprouts Farmers Market at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SFM. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $168.41. 265,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,444,804. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.15 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.78, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is $155.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.82.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 125,362 shares of company stock worth $18,263,687 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.