Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Short Interest Down 15.5% in February

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,620,000 shares, a decrease of 15.5% from the February 13th total of 6,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 5.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,145 shares of company stock valued at $11,427,787 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $64,117,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $53,946,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after purchasing an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SFM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $2.62 on Friday, reaching $142.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,133,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,550,084. The business's 50-day moving average is $150.79 and its 200 day moving average is $135.24. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $61.61 and a one year high of $178.99. 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 capitalization of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.