Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock Price Down 2.6% - Here's What Happened

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) shares traded down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $163.97 and last traded at $164.95. 105,499 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,437,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.6%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total transaction of $3,395,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,325,562.50. This represents a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $122,303.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,464.74. This represents a 8.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,547 shares of company stock worth $22,307,280. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,046,000 after purchasing an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,585,000 after buying an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the period.

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.