The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $174.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 43.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on SFM. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded down $30.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.03. 3,198,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,390,808. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.20 and its 200-day moving average is $129.27. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $52.57 and a 1-year high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. This represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,652 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,231,000 after buying an additional 168,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter.

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.