Wall Street Zen Downgrades Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) to Hold

Key Points

• Sprouts Farmers Market has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, amidst varied analysis by other research firms.
• The company reported a 17.3% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing expectations with $2.22 billion in revenue.
• Insiders, including the CEO and a director, have recently sold significant amounts of stock, with total insider sales exceeding $6.5 million over the last ninety days.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.73.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of SFM traded down $7.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.88. 2,530,923 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,315. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.42. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52-week low of $101.80 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The company has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 19th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 651 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total value of $92,168.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,590,651.30. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.95, for a total transaction of $1,000,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,271,693.55. The trade was a 30.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,606 shares of company stock worth $6,482,923 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,584,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,582,000 after buying an additional 1,494,014 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,350,000 after buying an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter valued at $198,080,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 300.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,037,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,316,000 after buying an additional 778,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 157.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,248,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,617,000 after buying an additional 763,422 shares during the last quarter.

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.