Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $118.84, but opened at $135.10. Sprouts Farmers Market shares last traded at $130.18, with a volume of 655,924 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 29.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.52, for a total value of $545,801.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 233,860 shares in the company, valued at $22,338,307.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,543 shares of company stock valued at $5,751,870. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at approximately $349,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 8.5% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 616,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,748,000 after purchasing an additional 48,225 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 78.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 59.8% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 6,286 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $1,643,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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.