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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, indicating a cautious stance on the stock's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain a positive outlook, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $176.29 for the stock.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $1.35 earnings per share and a significant 17.3% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SFM. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.29.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $111.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $127.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.09. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1 year low of $98.75 and a 1 year high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.50, for a total value of $94,178.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,481 shares in the company, valued at $1,679,688.50. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.00, for a total transaction of $416,635.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,998,220. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,429 shares of company stock worth $5,351,362. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,588.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 398,507 shares of the company's stock worth $43,358,000 after acquiring an additional 374,900 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 207,331 shares of the company's stock worth $22,558,000 after acquiring an additional 8,748 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 109.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,920 shares of the company's stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 7,273 shares during the period. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth about $361,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,505 shares of the company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 108 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.

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