Insider Selling: Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) COO Sells 31,000 Shares of Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.14, for a total transaction of $2,298,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 51,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,817,839.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Nicholas Konat also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 22nd, Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total value of $1,978,591.98.
• On Friday, March 15th, Nicholas Konat sold 640 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $39,980.80.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,116,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,375. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.12 and a 52 week high of $75.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.51 and its 200 day moving average is $53.47. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFM. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.50.

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.