J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• J Sainsbury shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching GBX 340.90 compared with the average of GBX 333.60, on trading volume of approximately 5.2 million shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with four Buy ratings and two Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of GBX 355.17.
• Company insider Simon Roberts sold 346,154 shares for approximately £1.15 million; insiders collectively own just 0.44% of J Sainsbury’s stock.

J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 333.60 and traded as high as GBX 340.90. J Sainsbury shares last traded at GBX 340.90, with a volume of 5,200,828 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBRY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on J Sainsbury from GBX 330 to GBX 346 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a GBX 310 target price on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 395 target price on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 360 price target on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Shore Capital Group reiterated a "house stock" rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J Sainsbury presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 355.17.

J Sainsbury Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of £7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 342.29 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 333.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Simon Roberts sold 346,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 333, for a total transaction of £1,152,692.82. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

About J Sainsbury

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.

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